
Class U H 2 £j 
Book - i f ^ 



: 



UNITED STATES BUREAU OF EDUCATION. 
CIRCULAR OF INFORMATION NO. 3, 1903. 



CONTRIBUTIONS TO AMERICAN EDUCATIONAL HISTORY, 

EDITED BY TTKUBERT B. ADAMS. 



No. 36. 




HISTORY 



IIGHER EDUCATION IN MAINE, 



EDWARD "W. HALL, LL. D. 3 

Librarian of Colby College. 




WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 

19 03. 



^SU 



7? f 



UNITED STATES BUREAU OF EDUCATION. 
CIRCULAR OF INFORMATION NO. 3, 1903. 



CONTRIBUTIONS TO AMERICAN EDUCATIONAL HISTORY. 

EDITED BY HERBERT B. ADAMS. 

No. 36. 



HISTORY 



OF 



HIGHER EDUCATION IN MAINE, 



BY 



EDWARD W. HALL, LL. D. 

Librarian of Colby College. 



WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 

1903. 



V 



V 






i 



>: 



-.-* 



Bv f e *r 

1 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



Page. 

Chapter I. — Tlie public schools ._ 7 

II. — Educational associations 29 

III. — Bangor Theological Seminary 35 

' IV. — Bowdoin College 41 

V.— Colby College '. 95 

VI.— Bates College ... : 130 

VII. — University of Maine 159 

VIII.— Normal schools 188 

IX. — Secondary education 197 

X. — Baptist academies: 

1. Coburn Classical Institute 201 

2. Hebron Academy 208 

3. Ricker Classical Institute 212 

4. Higgins Classical Institute 216 

XI. — Methodist institutions: 

1 . Maine Wesleyan Seminary and Female College 219 

2. East Maine Conference Seminary 227 

XII. — Westbrook Seminary and Female College , 231 

XIII.— Maine Central Institute 235 

XIV.— Oak Grove Seminary 238 

3 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



General view of University of Maine Frontispiece. 

Bangor Theological Seminary 36 

Bowdom College: 

Massachusetts Hall 44 

Memorial Hall 82 

Banister Hall, main room of Bowdoin College library 90 

Cobb Divinity School, Roger Williams Hall, Lewiston 140 

University of Maine: 

Campus from president's house 168 

Experiment station 178 

Bicker Classical Institute, Wording Hall, Houlton 212 

4 



LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. 



Department of the Interior, 

Bureau of Education, 
Washington, D. C. , January 26, 1903. 
SIR: I have the honor to transmit herewith the History of Higher 
Education in Maine, by Edward W. Hall, LL. D., librarian of Colby 
College. This monograph constitutes Circular of Information of this 
Bureau No. 3 of 1903, and is No. 36 of the series of Contributions to 
American Educational Historj^, which have been published from time 
to time by the Bureau under the editorship of the late Herbert B. 
Adams. The present circular contains a sketch of the history of the 
school system of Maine as well as the history of higher education. 
Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

W. T. Harris, Commissioner. 
Hon. E. A. Hitchcock, 

Secretary of the Interior. 

5 



Chapter I. 

THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 



The history of public education in Maine prior to 1820 belongs to 
the educational history of Massachusetts. The several enactments of 
the General Court of Massachusetts relating to maintaining public 
schools were of course applicable to the towns existing in the district 
of Maine. 

The towns of Kittery and York received in 1673 "presentments" 
from the grand jury "for not providing a schoole and schoolmaster for 
ye aedification of youth according to law." It is inferred from other 
presentments that schools had been established in several other towns 
before that date. 65 But as the records of most of the towns in York 
County, the earliest settled in the State, were destroyed during the 
frequent conflicts with the Indians no reliable history of the establish- 
ment of schools prior to 1700 can be obtained. The town records of 
York mention the hiring of Nathaniel Freeman in 1701 "to Ceep a free 
scool for all the Inhabitants of our Town of York. " They also men- 
tion the vote of the town March 9, 1724-25, "yt a School House shall 
be built at ye Lower end of ye Town on ye ministerial land this } 7 ear at 
ye Town Cost and charges," which must have been the first schoolhouse 
built in Maine. These records further show that the town maintained 
not only schools to teach reading, writing, and arithmetic, but also 
maintained a grammar school, as it was then called, down to 1785. In 
that year formal mention is made of school districts and their limits 
denned. A school committee of nine was chosen April 1, 1779. 

The town of Wells furnishes the next earliest record concerning 
schools. It is the vote of the town, March 20, 1715, " that the select- 
men use .their endeavour to procure a school master for the town at 
the town's charge, not exceeding twenty pounds per annum and his 
diate." It was not until 1716, however, that a schoolmaster, Mr. 
Richard Martyn, a graduate of Harvard, was induced to accept this 
salary and "diate." The historian of Wells, writing of these times, 
says: 

During the short breathing time between Queen Anne's and Lovell's war, the 
great subject of schools seems first to have suggested itself to the attention of the 

« Sixth report of the State board of education, 1852, Hon. E. M. Thurston, sec- 
retary; report for 1876 of the State superintendent of schools, Hon. W. J. Corthell. 

7 



b EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

people. Even the lowest grade of instruction had not yet been provided for. 
During- the perils of the wars, children could not have been trusted to attend 
school at any considerable distance from their homes, and, in fact, no school could 
have been safely kept. There is good reason for the belief that, down to this 
period, no school of any kind had been maintained. « 

The interest awakened in Wells did not die out. In 1731 the first 
sehoolhouse in town was built, followed in 1734 by two others. In 
Kennebunk, which was a part of Wells, the first record relating to 
schools is in 1757, when it was voted to hire a schoolmaster for one 
year. The first sehoolhouse in the town is thus described by Bourne : 

It was built of large round logs notched at the ends so as to let into each other. 
The walls were about 6 feet high, with a roof over the top, though the gable 
ends were entirely open. There were no windows, the light coming in freely 
from the ends. The only way of entering, both for master and scholars, was by 
climbing up on a stile at the end and jumping down into the house. 

The parish, had at least partial control of the schools until 1805, 
when the town assumed entire control. The first woman teacher was 
Polly Hovey, who taught at Kennebunk Port in 1792 and was paid 
$1.50 per week. 

The earliest record of schools in Portland is in 1729, when the select- 
men were requested "to look out for a schoolmaster, to prevent the 
town's being presented." The first notice of the actual employment of 
a teacher is in 1733, wiien Robert Bayley was hired at a salary of £50. 
In 1736 the first "grammar school" was established, in which more 
extensive culture was provided, as a preparation for the university. 
In 1745 Stephen Longfellow, at the instance of Rev. Thomas Smith, 
transferred his grammar school from York to Portland, where he soon 
found 50 pupils at 8 shillings per quarter. 5 

Schools existed at Buxton in 1761, at New Gloucester in 1764, and 
at Machias in 1774. Mrs. John White opened the first school in 
Canaan in 1778, where Samuel Weston in 1778 had a class of married 
men, and in 1796 Isaiah Wood, "besides his classes in the Psalter 
and Dilworth's Spelling Book, introduced a class in the newspaper, 
which proved a very interesting document to the young." Josiah 
Spaulding, in 1779, kept a school at Norridgewock in the house of 
Mr. Laughton, the principal scholars being from the Spaulding and 
Laughton families, however. This town was divided into five school 
districts in 1790, when it was voted that "Grain and Corn of any kind, 
beans, peas, flax, sheep's wool, Pork, and Beef be rece'd in payment 
for the School and Minister's Rates." In 1791 Norridgewock raised 
£30 for schools, which amount was to be expended in "Each class 
their Equil proportion in schooling, according as the majer part of Said 
class shall agree. " It was also one of the earliest towns to prescribe 

a E. E. Bourne, History of Wells and Kennebunk, pp. 307, 439. 
b William Willis, History of Portland, 1632-1864, pp. 365-367. 



THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. \f 

sanitary regulations, the town committee having reported in 1806 the 
following : 

2d. It is recommended to parents and others who have the care of youth that 
previous to their sending them to any school that they be careful that they are 
free from the Itch! 

Schools are mentioned in the records of Union in 1785 and Castine 
in 1796. a The same general course was pursued in all. The minister 
was the leading mind in establishing the school, the parish exercised 
at first the active authority, the town or the freeholders, assembled 
in public meeting, voted the money. 

SCHOOL DISTRICTS. 

Many of the towns were sparsely settled, while the greater part of 
the township was wilderness. To attend school, if but one existed, 
some of the pupils must travel 12 miles. This led to keeping the 
school part of the time in one portion of the town and part in another. 
These portions, or school centers, had in some instances been formally 
recognized and limits assigned to them by vote of the town. In June, 
1789, the general court passed an act which gave the school districts 
a Ifcgal existence. b 

In the provisions of this act are found the substance of the school 
laws of Maine since enacted. These are: (1) Compelling towns to 
support schools; (2) the establishment of districts embracing part of 
the town, by a vote of the town, as the school unit; (3) the teaching 
of morals ; (4) certificates of the literary and moral qualifications of 
teachers; (5) establishment of primary schools; (6) recognition of 
women as teachers; (7) the establishment of schools in unincorpo- 
rated "plantations;" (8) recognition of the right of towns to manage 
schools by a committee. 

It contains also some provisions not found in our present laws: (1) 
The compulsory support by each town of 100 families of a grammar, 
or, as it would now be ranked, a high school; (2) the control of the 
schools by the town through the selectmen or a committee chosen by 
the town; (3) the recognition of the settled ministers as persons 
whose examination and certification of teachers were authoritative. 

In February, 1800, an act was passed enabling school districts to 
tax themselves to build schoolhouses, to choose clerks to keep their 
records, and committees to have charge of the expenditure of moneys 
raised to build schoolhouses. 

« Buxton Centennial: Address by Cyrus Woodman, p. 58. 1872. New Gloucester 
Centennial: Address by T. H. Haskell, p. 25. 1874. Machias Centennial: Address 
of W. B. Smith. 1863. J. W. Hanson, History of Norridgewock and Canaan, 
p. 325. 1849. J. L. Sibley, History of Union, p. 294. 1851. G. A. Wheeler, 
History of Castine, etc., p. 135. 1875. 

& Quoted in full in Maine school report, 1876, pp. 17-19. 



10 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

By an act of the general court, June 13, 1817, all school districts 
More made bodies corporate, empowered to maintain suits and to hold 
property for school purposes, thus receiving the last legal quality 
needful to clothe the school district with full power as a municipal 
corporation. 

The establishment and care of the schools in the 161 towns which 
had been incorporated within the present limits of Maine, prior to the 
nineteenth century, was in accordance with the laws of the Common- 
wealth of Massachusetts. In only 7 towns can a record be found of 
the existence of a "grammar school." Probabty no more than this 
had the required 100 families. No change was made in the school 
laws till 1820. 

MAINE SCHOOL LEGISLATION. 

At the second session of the legislature of Maine, which convened 
in January, 1821, the first school law of Maine was passed. This law 
provides: (1) For the minimum amount of money which a town must 
raise for the support of schools; (2) for the mode of apportionment 
of the money so raised among the school districts of the town; (3) 
for the more complete organization of the school districts, defining 
the mode in which they shall be formed; providing for the choosftig 
of district agents; defining the powers of the district in raising 
money, building and locating schoolhouses, and their proceeding in 
assessing, collecting, and disbursing moneys; (4) for the election 
by a town of a superintending school committee, defining their 
duties; (5) for the qualifications of teachers and the mode of deter- 
mining those qualifications; (6) for the subjects to be taught in 
the common schools, giving these in two divisions, viz, morals, 
enumerated in section 2, and literature, enumerated in section 4; 
(7) penalties for neglect of its provisions and defines the manner 
of appeal from the decision of school districts to the town." An 
attempt to amend this law in 1822, so as to confer upon the district 
the power of choosing agents, was only partially successful. The 
town was allowed to determine, by vote at its annual meeting, 
whether the districts should choose their own agents. The district 
system proved to be an obstacle in the way of good schools as 
early as 1822, when the city of Portland obtained a special act of the 
legislature abolishing its school districts, and conferring upon the 
school committee the powers of district agents. 

In 1825 several amendments to the school law were made. Any 
town omitting to choose a superintending school committee became 
liable to a fine of not less than $30 nor more than $200. The com- 
mittee was given power to exclude disobedient pupils from the 
schools. The district agent was required to notify the committee 
when the school was to commence and how long it was to continue. 

«Laws of Maine, vol. 1, and Maine school report, 1876, pp. 20-24. 



THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 11 

The schools were to "be visited by the committee at least twice each 
term, once within three weeks after the commencement and once within 
two weeks of the close. The 1st day of May was fixed as the time for 
enumerating those between 4 and 21 years of age, the basis upon 
which the school money raised by the town was divided among its 
several districts. Ten per cent of the school funds was authorized to 
be expended for fuel and incidental repairs. It was left discretionary 
with the district and school committee to determine how much of the 
school money should be applied to maintain a school taught by a mis- 
tress, usually in the summer. The law of 1825 also made provision 
for collecting school statistics. Selectmen were now required to make 
returns to the secretary of state once in three years, giving the num- 
ber of school districts and of scholars in each, the length of schools 
and number of pupils attending, with amounts of money expended. 
Blanks were furnished to the towns, but the returns were meager and 
valueless until 1833, when an apportionment of school money from 
the State treasurer demonstrated the importance of more complete 
statistics. 

The next law touching public instruction was approved February 
16, 1827. Provision was now made for union districts formed from 
two or more adjoining towns. Those residing on islands along the 
coast or in remote parts of large towns beyond the district lines might 
have their proportion of school funds and expend it under the direc- 
tion of the school committee. The districts were by this act author- 
ized to instruct their agents at what time the schools should commence. 
It was further provided that where a school should be kept a part of 
the year by a master and a part by a mistress, the district might by 
themselves, by a committee of their own appointing, or by the school 
committee of the town determine what description of scholars should 
be admitted to each school. This was the first legal provision that 
looked toward a graded system of schools, though several towns had 
previously attempted a classification of scholars into graded schools. 

An act approved February 23, 1828, directed the State land agent 
to set apart 20 townships of the public land, the sales of which were 
to constitute a permanent State school fund. It also provided that 
certain moneys due the State from the United States should, when 
received, be reserved for a school fund. This provision was repealed 
March 11, 1835. 

The next school legislation of importance was the act of 1832. This 
act extended to the city of Bangor the same power of school organiza- 
tion which had been given to Portland in 1822 and to Bath in 1828. 
Bangor was empowered to pay its school committee for services, 
which was the first legal provision made for such compensation. An 
act approved March 4, 1833, required that the bank tax of one-half 
of 1 per cent on their capital stock, semiannually paid into the State 
treasury by the banking corporations, should henceforth be reserved 



12 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

for public instruction, and apportioned among the towns according 
to the number of children of school age. The just distribution of this 
bank tax depended upon correct school statistics. District agents were 
now required to make, under oath, correct lists of school children in their 
respective districts, and return the lists to the selectmen in the month 
of December. The selectmen were required to make the returns 
specified in the act of 1825 to the secretary of state annually, instead 
of once in three years. The money thus furnished by the State did 
not relieve the town from the necessity of raising by tax school money 
at the rate previously fixed of 40 cents for each inhabitant. 

In 1831 all the previous school laws were collected, rewritten, and 
enacted in one statute. In this revision few changes were made. 
The town school committees were to consist of not less than three 
nor more than five members. Acting under oath, they were to prepare 
and present to the annual town meeting a written report on the state 
of the schools. Districts were now allowed to admit scholars to their 
schools from other districts or towns, and might adopt the mode of 
organization granted to Bangor in 1832. 

A resolve was approved March 20, 1839, directing the secretary of 
state to transmit to each district an abstract of the returns of the 
common schools of the State, and abstracts were prepared for 1839, 
1840, and 1841. So little benefit resulted from these defective abstracts 
that the resolve requiring them was repealed in 1842. 

Penalties for disturbing schools were enacted by the legislature in 
1840. 

In 1841 the school laws were again revised and arranged in one act. 
For the first time in the legislation of the State a general provision 
was made for payment of school committees for their services, the 
sum being fixed at $1 per day, paid by the town. 

During the session of 1843 a bill was reported by E. M. Thurston, 
chairman of the committee on education, to provide for a board of 

13 school commissioners, 1 from each county. The bill passed the 
house, but was indefinitely postponed in the senate. The discussion 
of the proposed measure, widely published in the newspapers, gave 
the first impulse to educational reform in the State. A similar bill 
failed to pass in 1845. 

The first legislation on district libraries was enacted March 19, 1844, 
and authorized the expenditure of 5 per cent of the school money each 
year for that purpose, if the voters so desired. Subsequent legisla- 
tion has authorized the expenditure of 10 per cent, yet only a few 
district libraries are now maintained. 

STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION. 

A State educational convention held at Augusta in January, 1846, 
appointed a committee "to carefully consider the defects in our edu- 
cational system, and to suggest measures for their removal." 



THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 13 

This committee consisted of Amos Brown, Philip Eastman, A. S. 
Packard, and S. P. Benson. They presented a memorial to the next 
legislature, as instructed by the convention, enumerating the follow- 
ing evils in the school system: (1) the multiplying of school districts; 
(2) the prevalent inefficiency of school committees; (3) the w^ant of 
suitable qualifications in teachers; (4) the want of a proper classifica- 
tion in schools, arising from multiplicity of text-books, and want of 
system in the course of study; (5) want of general interest in our free 
schools. As an agency to help to remedy these evils the committee 
urged the establishment of a State board of education. The memo- 
rial was referred by the legislature to the joint standing committee 
on education, which, through the chairman, E. M. Thurston, reported 
a bill establishing a board consisting of one member from each county. 

This bill became a law July 27, 1846. a 

In accordance with the provisions of this law the first board of edu- 
cation met at Augusta on the 16th day of December, 1846. It con- 
sisted of Stephen Emery, Horace Piper, Philip Eastman, Benjamin 
Randall, A. F. Drinkwater, Aaron Hayden, R. H. Vose, Samuel Tay- 
lor, 'Ebenezer Knowlton, David Worcester, Oliver L. Currier, Samuel 
Adlam, and William I. Savage, all men of culture and influence in their 
respective counties. William G. Crosby, of Belfast, was unanimously 
elected the first secretary of the board. His report, presented at the 
second session of the board, gives the first reliable statistics about the 
schools of Maine. The average wages of teachers was given as $16.71 
per month for men and $6.08 for women, exclusive of board. The 
average length of schools for the year was twenty -one weeks and one 
day; number of persons between 4 and 21 years, 201,992; whole num- 
ber in winter schools, 94,217; in summer schools, 96,127, or less than 
50 per cent. 

In 1849 Hon. E. M. Thurston was chosen secretary of the board, 
which position he filled with eminent ability until 1852, when the leg- 
islature abolished the board of education. The influence of the board 
upon the common schools of the State during the six years of its 
existence was highly beneficial. The six reports, b published and dis- 
tributed by the board, contain carefully prepared educational statis- 
tics, present the legislative requirements as modified from year to year, 
and give much space to the discussion of the best methods of teaching 
and of building schoolhouses. The only reason given for abolishing 
the board seems to have been that its members, being appointed by 
the school committees of the several towns in each county, thus 
became entirely independent of the political party in power. It could 
not be used to reward political favorites, nor could its influence be 
applied for political purposes. There is abundant evidence that the 
board had awakened an interest in the public schools such as had 

o, . 

a Quoted in full in Maine school report, 1876, pp. 33-35. 

& First to sixth, of the board of education of the State of Maine, 1847-1852. 



14 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

never been known before in the history of the State. It had aroused 
a desire for better teachers, and had suggested measures tp remedy 
the great evil of noiiatteiidaiice on the part of so large a proportion 
of the school population. More than all, perhaps, it had held teach- 
ers' institutes annually in each county, at which more than 6,000 a 
teachers had been present, to most of whom the instruction of these 
institutes came like a new revelation. Modes of teaching, principles 
of classification and government of schools, examples of daily work 
by model schools, explanation of the true spirit and purpose of edu- 
cation, and many similar practical topics were presented at these 
gatherings of ^young teachers under the direction of able and experi- 
enced educators. 

A spirit of emulation and of professional pride was excited, the 
beneficial effects of which were at once apparent in the improved 
methods and new life infused into the schools. One result was the 
formation of county teachers' associations, at which the work begun 
in the institutes was continued amid free exchange of views on minor 
points of school work, as well as discussion of broader subjects. 

The same legislature which abolished the board of education abol- 
ished also the teachers' institutes. In place of the board it authorized 
the governor and council to appoint a county commissioner of com- 
mon schools in each county in the State, holding office for one year. 
The commissioner's duty was defined in the act. He was to spend at 
least fifty days, during the term of winter schools, in visiting the 
towns in his county, promoting by addresses and other means the cause 
of common school education, and make an annual report to the legis- 
lature. There is no record of the work accomplished by the com- 
missioners appointed in 1852 and in 1853. Apparently they made no 
report. 

STATE SUPERINTENDENT. 5 

For two years following the legislation of April, 1852, there was no 
officer charged with the superintendence of the school invests of the 
whole State. But in April, 1854, an act was passed establishing the 
office of State superintendent of schools. This officer was to be 
appointed for a term of three years ; to devote his time to the improve- 
ment of the common schools; to make an annual report) to the legis- 
lature, with recommendations; to hold annually in each county a 
teachers' convention of one week at least, employing suitable instruct- 
ors and lecturers. The salary of the State superintendent was fixed 
at 81,200, and the sum of $2,000 was appropriated to defray the 
expenses of the conventions. 



"Tables showing the attendance at each institute for the five years 1847-1851, 
with names of the instructors at each institute in 1851, are given in the sixth 
report of the board of education, 1852, pp. 22, 23. 

& Maine school reports, 1854 to 1891. 



THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 15 

In accordance with the law, Charles H. Lord, of Portland, was 
appointed the first State superintendent of common schools, June 12, 
1854. Mr. Lord's report, submitted to the legislature in January, 1855, 
is a pamphlet of 36 pages, in the form of an address or plea for better 
schools. It contains no tables of statistics, and hence does not give 
the school attendance or amount expended for school purposes. The 
superintendent, in his tours through the State, was impressed with the 
great irregularity in attendance, the lack of interest expressed by the 
parents, the want of classification and discipline in the schools, and 
the great number of incompetent teachers. 

Mark H. Dunnell, of Norway, was appointed superintendent in 
March, 1855. In his report for that year he mentions the interest 
manifested in the five-day teachers' conventions, held in each county, 
and made prominent the want of well-qualified teachers. The advan- 
tages of normal schools are presented, and the State authorities are 
urged to establish like schools at the earliest moment. Important 
statistical tables fill 41 pages of this valuable report. 

Mr. J. P. Craig, of Readfield, held the office for the year 1856. In 
his report mention is made of the growing interest in school matters 
in many of the large towns. Means for supplying better teachers are 
considered, and the establishment of a normal school urged. 

Mark H. Dunnell was again appointed State superintendent in 1857, 
and held that office until 1860. During that period an increase is 
noticed in the amount of money expended for schools. The first 
State teachers' convention in Maine was held at Waterville, Novem- 
ber 16 to 19, 1859. A State teachers' association was organized as a 
result of the interest thus awakened. County teachers' conven- 
tions or institutes were abolished by the legislature of 1860, which 
also distinguished itself by reducing the superintendent's salary to 
$1,000. As a substitute for the teachers' institutes a bill was passed 
establishing a normal department in connection with 18 academies 
of the State, one for each county. In the school report for 1861 
returns from these academies are printed with tables showing that 
457 received instruction in these normal schools in the spring term 
and 438 in the autumn. The average age of those in attendance was 
19^ years, and 515 of the whole number had previously taught schools. 
The experiment proved unsatisfactory, and the law was repealed in 
1862. 

Mr. Edward P. Weston was appointed State superintendent in 1860 
and continued in office until the close of 1864. His reports contain 
accounts of the working of normal schools in other States, with urgent 
pleas for the establishment of such institutions in Maine. The legis- 
lature of 1863 authorized the establishment of two State normal 
schools. The same year, owing to the tax indirectly imposed upon 
the State banks by the United States law establishing national banks, 
the legislature remitted one-half of the State tax upon them, decreas- 



16 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

ing the amount of State aid to common schools bj^ about $37,000. 
It seemed probable that this source of school money would be entirety 
destroyed. To supply this deficiency the legislature authorized the 
land agent in 1861 to sell the timber on 10 townships of public land and 
deposit the proceeds in the State treasury for an addition to the per- 
manent school fund. In 18G5 each town was required to raise by tax- 
ation a sum equal to 75 cents for each inhabitant for the support of 
sehools. The act provided for the first time a penalty for not raising 
and expending this sum. An}^ town failing to do this forfeited its 
proportion of the school money distributed by the State. By the act 
of March 3, 1868, the amount to be raised annually by the towns for 
school purposes was raised to $1 for each inhabitant, exclusive of all 
moneys derived from other sources. This continued to be the school 
rate until 1872, when the present rate of 80 cents per inhabitant was 
fixed upon, under penalty of forfeiting not less than twice nor more 
than four times the amount of the deficienc3 T . 

Mr. Weston's final report, made in December, 1864, contains 80 
pages of interesting extracts from the school reports of the various 
towns. Other reports have in the same manner afforded valuable 
glimpses of the spirit of tKe people toward the common schools. 

Rev. Edward Ballard, of Brunswick, was Mr. Weston's successor, 
remaining in office for three years, 1865 to 1868. His annual reports 
present the usual statistics, together with full accounts of the progress 
of the normal schools then recently established. 

Mr. Warren Johnson was appointed March 30, 1868, and continued 
State superintendent until his resignation in September, 1876. 

Mr. Johnson had a clear conception of the deficiencies in the school 
system of the State and possessed the determination and energy needed 
in the attempt to correct them. Among the defects which he labored 
to remove may be mentioned the district system, lack of school 
inspection, incompetency of teachers, low rate of wages paid, and 
short terms of school. 

Hon. William J. Corthell, of Calais, was appointed State superin- 
tendent in 1876 and brought to the service of the State a wide acquaint- 
ance with its schools and the high esteem of the educators of Maine. 
At the opening of the normal school at Gorham in 1878 he was placed 
in charge of its affairs, a position which he continues to fill with emi- 
nent success. 

Hon. Nelson A. Luce, of Vassalboro, was promoted to he State 
superintendent of schools in 1878, and has continued in office until 
the present time (1892), with exception of the year 1879, when Hon. 
Edward S. Morris, of Biddeford, received the appointment for one 
year only. Superintendent Luce has been all his lifetime prominent 
in labors for the advancement of the educational interests of the State, 
and enjoys the trust and confidence of all parties. 

The salary of the superintendent was fixed in 1889 at $1,500, with 
an assistant at $1,000 per annum. 



THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 17 

COUNTY SUPERVISORS. 

In 1869 the teachers' institutes were reestablished by law, and a 
board of county supervisors created, one in each county, with an 
official term of three years. It was their duty to visit the schools 
frequently, to note the condition of the school buildings, the effi- 
ciency of the teachers, methods of instruction and branches taught, 
text-books, and apparatus used, and the discipline, government, and 
general condition of each school. 

The county supervisors were required to assist the State superin- 
tendent in holding teachers' institutes, and to organize county and 
town associations wherever desirable. They were especially prohib- 
ited from acting as agent for any publishers of school books. With 
the State superintendent as secretary, the supervisors constituted a 
board of education, which was required to hold a session at the capital 
during the session of the legislature. 

Under this act appointments were made as follows: For Andros- 
coggin County, C. B. Stetson; Aroostook, W. T. Sleeper; Cumber- 
land, * J. B. Webb; Franklin, A. H. Abbott; Hancock, C. J. Abbott; 
Kennebec, W. H. Bigelow; Knox, A. R. Abbott; Lincoln, D. S. 
Glidden; Oxford, N. T. True; Piscataquis, W. S. Knowlton; Penob- 
scot, S. A. Plummer; Sagadahoc, D. F. Potter; Somerset, G. W. 
Hathaway; Waldo, N. A. Luce; Washington, W. J. Corthell; York, 
C. H. Milliken. 

The State superintendent issued detailed instructions as to the 
duties of the county supervisors, among which are some that indi- 
cate what was designed to be effected by these officers. They were 
directed "to hold meetings of teachers, committees, and educators in 
every town visited for the purpose of communicating instruction and 
improved methods of teaching; to ascertain difficulties in the way of 
success, and in general for mutual consultation in the interest of 
common schools. They were also advised to "meet the people as 
often as possible for talk on various school matters, according to the 
wants of particular localities." It was even urged that the super- 
visors should ' ' make frequent use of the county papers and the press 
generally," and they were reminded that "a column of educational 
intelligence will indicate life in the educational body, and will exert 
a widespread influence through the community." 

A new impulse was given to the schools by this new agency of 
inspection. Twenty-nine teachers' institutes of one week each were 
held, at which 2,650 teachers were present. At the close of each 
institute examinations were held and certificates granted. A greater 
public interest was aroused and the importance of having competent 
teachers became more widely felt. Classification in the schools was 
improved, and the average number of classes in country schools 
reduced from 25 to 16. In the school report for 1869 the working of 
10324— No.- 3—03 2 



IS EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

this new board of education is declared to have been a success and 
an invaluable aid to school supervision. 

The reports of the county supervisors fill 46 pages of the State 
superintendent's report, presenting not only a record of faithful work, 
but also making known to the public the exact condition and educa- 
tional needs of each portion of the State. Thus, the supervisor a for 
Washington County, W. J. Corthell, reports having visited 172 schools 
in 30 towns of that sparsely settled portion of the State, and delivered 
13 lectures to the people in the evening, besides holding 16 teachers' 
meetings in the various towns. He found fewer good teachers in the 
schools, and consequently a less number of good scholars, than the 
same schools contained twenty years before. Some towns had chosen 
school committees who were unqualified to examine teachers in any 
branch of knowledge whatever. In one town all the school money 
had for several years been used to pay the war debt. 

Among the benefits resulting from county supervision the superin- 
tendent in 1871 reported: (1) Increased interest among the people; 
(2) improvement in scholarship of teachers; (3) more intelligent town 
supervision; (4) increase in the average attendance, from 42 per cent 
in 1868 to 50 per cent in 1871; (5) raising the compensation of teachers; 
(6) furnishing a competent body of instructors for the institutes, which 
three years before the superintendent had not been able to find within 
the limits of the State. b Mr. Johnson declares that the board of 
county supervisors, working in harmony with the State superintend- 
ency, accomplished more in three years for the schools of the State 
than any means before adopted had been able to effect. But the 
shortsightedness of ignorance, the jealous suspicion of political parti- 
sanship, and perhaps the disclosure made to legislators of the actual 
discreditable condition of the public schools in many localities, led to 
its abolition by the legislature of 1872. The "periodic epidemic of 
conservative retrogression," which had in 1862 caused the legislature 
to abolish institutes and normal schools, while it cut down the State 
superintendency to skeleton limits, at the end of a decade now visited 
the legislature of 1872 with its malarial influence, carrying away the 
most efficient school inspection ever exercised by the State. c 

The expense of maintaining public schools in the State in 1873 is 
given as $1,162,459. A decrease of 14,150 in the school population 
during the preceding ten years is reported by the State superintendent, 
the diminution having taken place chiefly in the rural portions and 
in villages where business growth has been slow or diminished. The 
suggestion is made that the school money should be made to serve as 
an award for the number of youth educated, and not for the number 
of children raised, which might be done by apportioning the moneys 
according to the number of scholars enrolled in the schools, rather 
than by the number of children in existence in the town. 

"Maine school report, 1869, p. 141. Hbid., 1871, p. 81. ^ibid., 1872, pp. 53-55. 



THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 19 

FREE HIGH SCHOOLS. 

Of the 71 academies and institutions of learning chartered by the 
State prior to 1871, only 37 made returns to the State superintendent 
that year, and 27 of these were reported as without sufficient revenue. 
The annual revenue desired from the State " to meet fair and reason- 
able demands" was computed to be 118,500. As such aid, if given by 
the State, could afford only a local benefit, and as these institutions 
always required tuition from pupils, it was decided to place the State 
aid on a broader basis. Accordingly, by an act approved February 
24, 1873, authority was given to any town to establish a free high 
school, and the State would pay one-half the cost of instruction, 
meaning b}^ this, only the board and wages of teachers, providing the 
sum paid by the State should not exceed $500, and that the towns 
should make special appropriation for this purpose, exclusive of the 
amounts required by law for common school purposes, and that tui- 
tion should be free. These were designed to be the people's high 
schools for a superior English and scientific education, excluding all 
primary classes, and affording the general culture demanded by 
the increasing wants of the times. A minimum grade of admission 
was established and the • measure was at once received with general 
favor. 

One hundred and fifty of these schools went into operation the first 
year after the passage of the act, and were attended by 10,286 pupils. 

The State was called upon to disburse $29,135 toward the expense 
of instruction, while the entire amount expended in maintaining the 
schools was $83,524. At the close of 1875 Superintendent Johnson 
says: 

Our free high-school system has now been three years on trial, and has conclu- 
sively demonstrated the wisdom of the State in establishing it. Besides opening 
to large numbers of our youth sources of culture not otherwise attainable, they 
have had a marked influence upon the common schools in giving them better 
teachers and inspiring their pupils with new incentives to work in the desire to 
qualify themselves for admission to the high schools. In my opinion, no portion 
of our school expenditures has been more profitable than that for the free high 
schools. a 

Even stronger approval is given in 1877 by Superintendent Corthell 
in a powerful argument in favor of the system. He notes its effect in 
elevating the standard of the common school, in furnishing better 
teachers, and in awakening and stimulating the scholarly spirit of 
pupils. b 

Superintendent Luce reports in 1878 no material decrease either in 
the number of free high schools, in the pupils attending them, or in 
the amounts expended for them, notwithstanding the hard times 
which had marked the preceding year. Schools were held in 150 
towns, attended by 11,849 pupils, and $106,557 was expended for 

* Maine school report, 1875, p. 39. &Ibid., 1877, pp. 13-19. 



2€ EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

instruction, of which sum the State paid $35,827 This is regarded 
by him as " conclusive evidence of their popularity, and that the}^ 
arc doing- a work which the people will not willingly have left 
undone." 

The strong testimony of these three officials, who spoke from their 
long acquaintance with the schools of the State, did not prevent the 
short-sighted legislature of 1879 from suspending the operation of the 
act of 1873 for one year. b Though this was done in the pretended 
interests of economy and of a reduction of State expenditures, the 
usual full appropriation for schools was made, amounting to $37,000. 
Of this amount the State superintendent declares that only about 
$15,000 was put to educational uses, and a large portion of the 
remainder was used for other purposes. The original law came into 
force again at the expiration of one year, February 28, 1880. The legis- 
lature of 1880 amended the act in several important particulars. The 
maximum amount of State aid payable to any one town supporting 
free high schools was fixed at $250 instead of $500, and the course of 
study was modified by prohibiting the teaching of the ancient and 
modern languages at any expense to the State, except where the 
schools formed part of a graded system. This act received the gov- 
ernor's approval on March 18, too late for most of the towns to take 
advantage of it by action at their annual March meetings. Yet it 
was found at the end of 1880 that free high schools had been main- 
tained in 86 towns at an expense of $59,059, of which $13,813 was 
paid by the State. c 

Since that time the act has been in operation, with no change in its 
provisions beyond fixing the time for making returns in June instead 
of December, and a modification of the course of study so as to — 

embrace the ordinary English academic studies, especially the natural sciences in 
their application to mechanics, manufactures, and agriculture; but the ancient 
and modern languages shall not be taught therein, except by direction of the 
superintending school committees having supervision thereof/ 7 

The growth and improvement in the character and efficiency of the 
free high schools has been constant since their reestablishment in 
1879. In the words of Hon. N. A. Luce— 

they are now evidently permanently fixed in our public school system beyond per- 
ad venture of further suspension or of abolition. And it is to be hoped, and may 
be confidently expected, that they will continue to grow steadily in public favor 
till at last they shall be made compulsory in every town in the State whose popu- 
lation will warrant their maintenance. e 

From a comparative statement made in the report for 1891, we find 
evidence of the growth of popular interest in these schools during the 

« Maine school report, 1878, pp. 30-43. 

6 Acts and Resolves, 1879, p. 137. 

« Maine school report, 1880, pp. 49-51; Acts and Resolves, 1880, chap. 229. 

<* Acts and Resolves, 1883 and 1887, chap. 100. 

* Maine school report, 1887, p. 21. 



THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 21 

ten years preceding. The number of towns maintaining free high 
schools has increased from 100 in 1881, to 228 in 1891 ; the total expense 
from $69,469 to $147,575; the State's share of such expense from 
$16,910 to $39,521; the aggregate number of weeks from 2,344 to 5,406; 
the aggregate attendance from 7,792 to 15,739 and the average attend- 
ance from 5, 592 to 12, 836. a This increase has been constant and almost 
uniform year by year, and the limit of growth has not yet been reached. 

ABOLITION OF THE DISTRICT SYSTEM. 

At the annual meeting of the Maine Pedagogical Society, in Decem- 
ber, 1892, its council was instructed to petition the legislature to 
abolish the district system. Under that system the schools were in 
many cases both expensive and inefficient, because extremely small. 
Under the town system such schools will be consolidated and much 
expense saved. The average length of the school year may thus be 
raised without expense from twenty-one to twenty-six weeks. Under 
the district system teachers are employed by agents who are incom- 
petent to judge of the qualifications of teachers and to whom the 
teachers have no responsibility. The town system will tend to sub- 
stitute merit for favoritism as the basis of appointment of teachers. 
It will also make possible a better system of supervision. Where the 
district system prevails no systematic course of study can be persist- 
ently carried out from year to year. In many schools the scholars 
begin at the same place and go over the same ground term after term 
with each new teacher. These and other defects of the old district 
system were urged upon the attention of the legislature, and a vote 
obtained February, 1893, to abolish that system. 

SYNOPSIS OF NEW SCHOOL LAWS OF 1895, WITH EXPLANATIONS AND 

COMMENTS. 

[Educational department, Augusta, May 20, 1895.] 

STATE CERTIFICATION OP TEACHERS. 

The legislature during its last session enacted several laws of special interest 
to teachers and school officers. Among the most important are the following: 
The State superintendent of schools is required to hold public examinations of 
candidates who desire to receive State certificates. These certificates may be 
granted for a term of years or for life. A list of persons who pass satisfactory 
examinations will be kept at the office of the State superintendent, and copies of 
the same will be sent to any school officer on application. These certificates will 
, authorize the persons holding them to teach in the public schools of the State, 
without examination by school committees or superintendents. 

The above act admits of more being done that will assist in advancing the 
schools of the State to the standard they should attain, and by so doing corres- 
pondingly elevate the teaching profession, than has been accomplished under any 
law relating to the common schools that has been enacted for many years. 

a Maine school report, 1891, p. 15. 



22 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

It is the intention of the State superintendent, if a sufficient number of persons 
present themselves as candidates for State certificates, to hold at least one exam- 
ination in each Congressional district during the present 'year. These examina- 
tions will be held on the same date, and they will be uniform throughout the 
State. Any person who has taught school successfully for six terms of not less 
than ten weeks each, may be a candidate for a State certificate. 

The certificates issued may be probationary or for life, as the scholarship and 
skill' of the candidate as shown in the schoolroom warrant. They will be of two 
grades, namely: (a) First grade, and (5) second grade. A first-grade certificate 
. will authorize the person holding the same to teach in any public school of the 
State. A second-grade certificate will authorize the person holding the same to 
teach in any public school of the State, except in the free high schools and the 
normal schools of the State. Probationary certificates will be granted for a term 
of three years, and may be renewed for a like term by the indorsement of the 
State superintendent on the back of the certificate, with the date of the indorse- 
ment affixed thereto. 

Candidates for second-grade certificates will be examined in reading, orthog- 
raphy, penmanship, arithmetic, geography, English grammar, composition, 
United States history, American and English literature, civil government, busi- 
ness forms, physiology, hygiene, the elements of the natural sciences, theory and 
practice of teaching, and the school laws of Maine. 

Candidates for first-grade certificates will be examined in the above-named 
subjects, and in addition thereto in algebra, geometry, botany, zoology, geology, 
chemistry, physics, astronomy, general history, rhetoric, political economy, psy- 
chology, French, German, Latin, and such other studies, or so many of them as 
will enable the candidate to demonstrate his fitness to teach in a high school which 
prepares students to enter our colleges and the technical schools of other States. 

Life certificates of both grades will be granted to persons who attain a satis- 
factory rank in their examinations, and who exhibit marked skill in instruction, 
management, and discipline in the schoolroom. 

Teachers who contemplate taking either of these examinations are requested to 
send their names and post-office addresses to the State superintendent at an early 
date. Upon receipt of this information, blank applications will be sent to candi- 
dates for them to fill out and return to this department! 

As soon as a sufficient number of persons have returned these blanks, indicating 
their desire to be considered as candidates for State certificates, the State superin- 
tendent will announce the date and places for holding these examinations. 

At an early date a circular will be prepared, stating in detail the topics that 
will be included in the examination in each subject, with some suggestions as to 
the preparation that should be made by the applicant. It will also be indicated 
to what extent credit will be given for college and other diplomas, with such 
other facts and explanations as seem to be necessary. 

The candidate will also be informed as to what testimonials should be filed at 
this office, and what previously prepared work will be accepted and considered in 
making up the estimate of one's right to receive a certificate. 

There are many ways in which the possession of these certificates will be of advan- 
tage to the teachers and the schools of the State. They will give an added dignity 
to the profession, set a higher standard of admission to its ranks, make the tenure 
of office more secure, insure better pay for a better service, form a State list of 
eligible teachers, make a permanent record of the names of the progressive teachers 
of the State, provide superintendents and superintending school committees of 
ambitious towns with copies of this list, thus placing the best teachers in direct 
communication with the school officers who are willing to pay for a high grade of 
work. These changes will tend to secure for the competent teachers of the State 
the most desirable positions. 



THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 23 

Everything which helps to make better teachers, in increasing proportion, makes 
the best schools. i - •■ • 

Teachers who do not hold certificate from the State superintendent must be 
examined by the superintending school committees, as provided in section 87 of 
chapter 11 of the revised statutes of Maine, as amended. 

SUMMER SCHOOLS FOR TEACHERS. 

The legislature also provided for holding at least three summer schools for tea- 
chers during the years of 1895 and 1896. The objects sought to be accomplished 
through these agencies were to give instruction in the common English branches, 
physiology and hygiene; to furnish an opportunity to acquire a better knowledge of 
facts that one needs to know to give instruction in what have come to be known 
as "nature studies," and to conduct class exercises in music, drawing, civics, 
physical culture, literature, and such other subjects as demand special attention 
in the common schools. Also to give teachers better ideas of their work, some 
definite information as to the methods used in the best schools, and thus inspire 
them to better fit themselves to perform the work which is committed to their 
care. 

The following prospectus was issued: 

It has been decided to hold summer schools at the places named below. It is 
expected that the school at Orono (Maine State College) will open July 15, 1895; 
at Foxcroft (camp ground) August 12; at Northport (camp ground) July 29; at 
Fryeburg (camp ground) July 15; at Saco (Thornton Academy) July 23; and at 
Turner (Grange Hall) August 5. 

The following is a list of the subjects that will be considered, and an outline of 
the work that will be attempted in each, in these several schools, with the excep- 
tion of the school at the Maine State College. The instruction at this school will 
include field and laboratory work in botany, geology, physics, and chemistry, and 
advanced work in literature, civics and domestic economy. For further informa- 
tion as to the topics to be taught in each subject and a list of the instructors in the 
Orono School, please apply to President A. W. Harris, Orono. All of the topics 
outlined below will not be given in any one school, but the work will be varied as 
the needs of the several schools seem to demand. The following synopses will give 
one a general idea of what it is proposed to do. 

Zoology. — In this subject a few typical animals will be carefully studied — their 
external features noted and dissections made. Special attention will be given to 
laboratory methods, and the use of apparatus and manuals. 

Mineralogy — This work will begin with preliminary lessons on the properties of 
minerals; laboratory study of common minerals, with special attention to means 
of recognizing these; collections of local varieties and discussion of occurrences 
and uses. 

It is the expectation that enough work will be done in each subject, so that any 
teacher who so desires may be able to continue the study alone. 

In addition to the above, the instructor will organize a private class in geology, 
which will do field work in the surrounding region. Instruction will be given 
in the construction of geological maps. The local geological features, such as 
minerals, ledges, quarries, glacial phenomena, soils, rivers, valleys, etc., will be 
studied. This work will be wholly out-of-door, and suggestions will be made as 
to how similar studies may be made in any locality. The fee for this course will 
be $5.00. 

Physics. — The work in physics will be such as is suitable for rural schools and 
schools below the high school in cities. It will be wholly experimental, and the 
apparatus that will be used may be duplicated by any teacher at a trifling expense. 



24: EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

Simple illustrations of the fundamental principles in mechanics of solids, hydro- 
statics, pneumatics, and heat will be given. If time will permit, some attention 
will be given to magnetism and electricity. 

Botany. — This work will be so conducted as to enable teachers to recognize and 
classify some of the common plants of Maine. Careful attention will be given to 
the parts of the plant, and its characteristics, habitat, and uses. A thorough 
study of the germination and growth of a selected list of plants will be made. 

Literature. — The work in literature will include a discussion of what to read, 
and class instruction in interpretation of 'English classics. This work will be so 
conducted as to assist in developing the imagination, and training the student to 
see the beauties, recognize the force of expression, understand the thought, and 
appreciate the pictures and portraits contained in the selections studied. Some 
time will also be given to drill in reading, and directions for and practice in the 
writing of clear and vigorous English. The teachers are requested to bring with 
them the following books if they have them in their libraries: Shakespeare's Mer- 
chant of Venice, "Wordsworth's poems, Longfellow's poems, Addison's Sir Roger 
De Coverly Papers, and Irving 's Sketch Book. 

Civics. — In civics, the origin and growth of civil government will be considered. 

The town, the county, the State, and the nation will be studied, in their organ- 
ization and the administration of their civil affairs. The duties and powers of the 
officers of each and the rights and duties of the citizen will be outlined somewhat 
in detail. Directions as to what means to use and what methods to adopt to make 
this work interesting and valuable in the common schools will be given. There 
will also be presented, in this connection, illustrations of how to study current 
topics. 

Child study. — The object of the work in "child study" will be to help the 
teachers to know the child — physically, intellectually, and morally — by indicating 
the ways in which to study his aptitudes, deficiencies, and tendencies. Sugges- 
tions will be given for observing the child in the street, on the playground, and in 
the class room, and for studying him in all his experiences — in all of his work and 
play — that the teacher may aid him to accomplish, in the best way, the work that 
nature or necessity has decided he is to do. 

Primary methods. — The work in primary methods in reading, language, num- 
ber, and geography will include an outline of the topics to be taught, the methods 
to be used, together with suggestions, directions, and helps in teaching these sub- 
jects. It is intended to make this work of such a nature that the teachers in the 
common schools can use it in their class-room instruction. 

Manual training. — The instructor in manual training will devote the most of 
his time to explaining and teaching the principles, application, and importance of 
mechanical drawing, including the elements of third-angle projection, drawing 
to scale, and dimensioning. 

Teachers will also have an opportunity to practice elementary bench work in 
wood, consisting of a series of models systematically and progressively arranged, 
involving not only the most important mechanical principles, but their application 
to the educational theory of the age. 

Kindergarten. — The most of the time in this subject will be devoted to giving 
the teachers clear conceptions of the methods to be used and the thought that is 
represented by the use that is made of the material that is placed in the hands of 
the children. A careful explanation will be given of the principles upon which 
the work is based. The class work will consist of songs, games, physical exer- 
cises, lessons in color, direction, and observation. Also lessons in type forms, 
modeling, group work, and illustrative building. Some attention will be given 
to number work, geometric forms, and outline drawing with sticks. Talks will 
also be given on nature studies and how to use stories. 



THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 25 

Drawing. — The work in drawing will embrace illustrative exercises in presenta- 
tion, teaching, dictation, and drill, covering the required work in drawing through 
the first nine years of school life. Exercises in construction, representation, and 
decoration will be taken with the class, with a view of suggesting methods of 
teaching each, and of showing the necessity of careful distinction between teach- 
ing and training. The work will also include a study of type forms with reference 
to facts, appearance, and arrangements; the representation of type forms develop- 
ing the foundation principles of perspective; the decoration of type forms devel- 
oping elementary principles of decorative design. There will also be instruction 
in drawing from objects, paper folding and cutting, stick laying, and lessons in 
color. If time permits, work may be arranged for a class in problems in per- 
spective. 

Music. — The work in music will include methods of teaching this subject in all 
grades of the common schools, together with a study of music itself and of the 
characters and symbols used to picture it. The instruction will embrace scale 
practice, rote songs, beating time, time names, chromatic scale, study of intervals, 
formation of major and minor scales, music in two and three parts, writing of 
exercises, chorus conducting as applied to advanced classes, harmony, and theory. 

Voice culture and expression. — The work in these subjects will be largely in the 
form of daily drills in the principles of physical culture, voice culture, and read- 
ing, interspersed with short talks and lectures on the laws, causes and effects 
underlying expression of thought and emotion. In physical culture the exercises 
will con'sist of bodily movements without use of apparatus. In voice culture the 
drill will seek to develop harmony and volume of tone. In reading, the instruc- 
tion will be confined largely to drill in rendering selections from standard authors. 

Physiology, hygiene, and temperance. — It will be the aim of the instructor in 
these subjects to help the teachers to such facts, and supplement them with such 
suggestions as to methods of using them as will enable the teachers to give their 
pupils intelligent ideas of the functions, care, and training of the body, and to 
develop in them such an aversion for alcohol and narcotics that the use of these 
poisons will represent to them now, and in the future, evils to be condemned and 
shunned. 

Physical culture. — The work in this subject will be given in the form of class 
exercises, the teachers acting as members of the class. The work used will be 
adapted from the Ling System, such exercises being selected as are suitable for 
use in the common schools. 

Advanced history and geography. — Carefully prepared topic outlines, directions, 
and suggestions will be furnished for class-room work in history and geography. 

Reference books, dictionaries, etc. — Some time will be devoted to giving instruc- 
tion in how to use reference books and dictionaries, and what books to read and 
how to read them. 

Special features. — The regular exercises will be suitably varied by round-table 
talks, excursions, socials, and concerts. These entertainments and diversions 
have proved attractive in the past, and arrangements have been made to make 
them still more useful in the future. 

INSTRUCTORS. 

Arrangements have been made with the following-named persons to serve as 
instructors in the work outlined for the several summer schools: 

Nature studied. — Prof. W. H. Hartshorn, Bates College; Principal Harry Landes, 
Rockland High School, and assistant on United States Geological Survey for 1891- 
1893; Prof. Daniel E. Owen, instructor in science in Thornton Academy, and 
W. G. Mallett, instructor in science in Farmington Normal School. 



26 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

Civics.— Prof. William McDonald, Bowdoin College: and Superintendent G. A. 
Stuart, Lewiston. 

Literature— Prof. A. J. Roberts, Colby University. 

Sanitation and recognition of common minerals. — Prof. F. C. Robinson, Bow- 
doin College. 

Primary methods. — Miss Adelaide V. Finch, principal of Lewiston Training 
School. 

JIu sic. — Dr. Luther Whiting Mason, author of Mason's System of Music; N. L. 
Mower, instructor in music in the public schools of Auburn; A. E. Bradford, 
instructor in music in the public schools of Everett, Mass.; and Miss Emelie L. 
Phillips, instructor in music in the public schools of Rockland. 

Manual training. — W. C. Holden, director of school of manual training, Port- 
land. 

Kindergarten. — Miss Lucy Harris Symonds, Boston. 

Voice culture and expression. — Prof. F. A. Metcalf , Emerson College of Oratory, 
Boston. 

Drawing. — Miss Katherine Halliday, Gorham Normal School; Miss Cora Green- 
wood, graduate of Massachusetts Normal Art School. 

Physical culture. — Miss Jennis M. Colby, Gorham Normal School; Miss Edna 
Trask, graduate of Boston School of Gymnastics. 

Physiology , hygiene, and temperance. — Mrs. George F. French, Portland. 

Advanced work in geography. — Dr. E. E. Philbrook, Castine Normal School. 

<Child study. — State superintendent of schools. 

LECTURES. 

The following named persons have been secured for evening lectures: Prof. 
George C. Chase, president of Bates College; Dr. A. W. Harris, president of 
Maine State College; Prof. F. C. Robinson, Bowdoin College; Prof. A. J. Roberts, 
Colby University; Principal W. J. Corthell, Gorham; Principal A. F. Richard- 
son, Castine; Hon. Fred Gowing, State superintendent of schools, New Hampshire; 
Rev. J. H. Parshley, Rockland. 

The instructors named above are specialists who will give, in a few weeks, some 
of the winnowed wisdom the years have taught them. Such schools must be an 
inspiration to every earnest teacher. The instruction that will be given must 
broaden and strengthen every faithful teacher. To be brought in contact with 
the experts otf one's profession, to feel the influence of their personality, and to be 
given an opportunity to study their methods, must be stimulating to the progres- 
sive teacher. 

Not only will the teachers be able to add to their information' and have an 
opportunity to observe the best methods of instruction, but they will also be 
placed in a position where they will come in contact with superintendents seeking 
the services of skillful teachers. Every teacher of experience will realize the 
advantages that will accrue to her from such opportunities. 

There will be no charge for tuition for the regular work of these schools. 
Arrangements have been made for instruction in advanced work in the sciences 
at the school in Orono, and a small fee will be charged for the use of the labora- 
tory and the materials that are supplied. 

Board can be obtained at all of these places at low prices. Those who desire to 
board themselves can arrange to do so on reasonable terms. The railroads will 
make special rates to members of these schools. 

For further information as to board, rooms, cottages, etc., address President 
A. W. Harris, Orono; Prof. E. L. Sampson, Foxcroft; Mr. M. C. Hill, Belfast (for 



THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 27 

Northport school); Mrs. N. Waterhouse, 7 Russell street, Portland (for Fryeburg 
school) ; Superintendent John S. Locke, Saco; or Superintendent J. H. Conant, 
East Turner. 

DOCUMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR TEACHERS. 

The legislature made provision for preparing for distribution courses of study, 
outlines of topics, suggestions and directions concerning the work to be done, and 
the management, discipline, and methods to be employed in the public schools, 
for the purpose of promoting better systems of instruction. 

The object of this resolve is to enable the State superintendent to place in the 
hands of superintendents and teachers an approved course of study; to furnish 
them with lists of books, papers, and magazines that give the best and latest dis- 
cussions of schools and schoolroom work; to help them to a knowledge of the 
books thart will aid them in interesting their pupils in subjects outside and beyond 
text-books, and thus help to Continue the work of the school in the home and 
assist in forming habits of reading and study; to furnish them with^uch infor- 
mation as will enable them to become familiar with the best schools, the work 
they are doing, and how it is being done; to inspire the teachers of Maine with a 
desire to be up with the times, and thus make their schools not only institutions 
of which we may be proud, but also powerful agents in promoting our general 
progress. It is hoped this work will aid in developing in the teachers of the State 
a greater interest in their profession and a better conception of what they owe 
their communities and the children. 

If a small part of what is outlined above can be done, the wisdom of the legis- 
lature in making provision for the work will be fully vindicated. 

NOT "SUPERVISOR," BUT "SUPERINTENDENT." 

The word " supervisor" does not appear in the statutes as they stand at the 
present time, but the word "superintendent" is used to designate this officer. 
The superintendent may or may not be a member of the superintending school 
committee. The committee is at liberty to elect any person it desires to the office 
of superintendent, and the person so elected performs the duties, and has the 
powers formerly performed by, and granted to, the supervisor,. under the act of 
1893. The committee does not need to ask the permission of the town to elect a 
superintendent, nor is the town authorized to elect this officer. 

Small as this change is, yet it is large enough to permit and encourage towns to 
unite in employing a trained superintendent, and, by so doing, secure competent 
supervision without additional cost to each town. The extent to which the effi- 
ciency of the schools may be increased because of this change was probably not 
fully realized by even the authors of the amendment. 

PARENTS MAY FURNISH TEXT-BOOKS. 

The legislature further provided that any parent may procure, at his own 
expense and for the exclusive use of his child, the text-books he is required to use 
in the public schools. 

Some parents are unwilling that their children should be given books that have 
been used by other children, and, by this use, more or less soiled. They prefer to 
furnish the necessary books at their own expense. This law permits them to do 
this without receiving permission from the school committee. 



28 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

A WORD OF COMMENT. 

The last session of the legislature of Maine easily leads the thirty-odd Common- 
wealths of the Union that have been making laws during the past winter, in the 
wisdom of its legislation on school matters. The members of our present law- 
making body have demonstrated the fact that they are not wanting in public 
spirit, an intelligent grasp of the situation, and the ability to devise the ways and 
means to begin to place the schools of the State on the broad basis upon which 
they should stand. The session of 1895 will be distinguished for the broad intel- 
ligence and rare judgment of its legislators, and the far-reaching results of its 
legislation in the interests of the common schools. 

W. W. Stetson, 
State Superintendent of Schools. 



Chapter II. 

EDUCATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS. 



A State convention of teachers and friends of education was held 
at Angnsta during the session of the legislature in the winter of 1846. 
Its .chief work was to memorialize the legislature, asking for the 
establishment of a board of education as a means of improving the 
deplorable condition of the common schools. The appeal was success- 
ful and the board duly constituted. The interest awakened by the 
measures adopted and the vigor infused into the school system of the 
State by the wise energy of the secretary, led to the formation of. 
numerous county associations, which were held with varying frequency 
for several years. Many towns also had their associations, with meet- 
ings for consultation and discussion held monthly. a 

MAINE EDUCATIONAL ASSOCIATION. 

No general convention of the teachers of the State was held until 
1859, when at a meeting in Waterville, November 16, a constitution 
was adopted and permanent organization effected. The Maine Edu- 
cational Association held sessions, at which educational papers were 
presented and discussed, at Augusta in 1860, and at Portland in 1861. 
The fourth annual session was held at Bangor in November, 1862, 
and two sessions were held in 1863, one at Augusta in January, and 
one at Bath in November. These meetings were thought to be of great 
profit, yet several years were now allowed to pass without a session. 
The association was revived at Lewiston in November, 1867, and a 
new constitution adopted which continued in operation fifteen years. 
The State superintendent, Rev. Edward Ballard, D. D., was chosen 
president. The success of this meeting and the spirit manifested were 
Mghly encouraging to the friends of education. Gen. J. L. Chamber- 
lain, governor elect, strongly urged upon the legislature the neces- 
sity of a forward movement in the educational interests of the State. 
The opposition to the State superintendency was, overcome. The 
second meeting was held at Augusta, November 23-25, 1868. 

In November, 1869, a three days' meeting of the association was 
held at Bath, characterized by a large attendance and the practical 
topics discussed. An appropriation of $300 was made by the State to 

a Maine school report, 1876. Thomas Tash. Historical sketch. In Proc. Me. 
Pedagogical Soc., 1881. 

29 



30 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

enable the association to continue its work. In the previous year 
$200 was appropriated. The session of 1870 was held in Augusta, 
that of 1871 in Portland, where over 200 teachers were present. Reso- 
lutions in favor of the "mill tax "bill and of "free high schools " 
were passed, the former of which became a law the next year, and 
the latter the year following. 

The sixth annual meeting was held in Bangor, October 22-24, 1872. 
Resolutions were adopted in favor of abolishing the district system, 
and the introduction of music and drawing into the schools. Resolu- 
tions declaring the great importance of normal schools, and recog- 
nizing the free high-school system as meeting a demand of the times, 
were passed at the Waterville session in November, 1873. A sum- 
mer session was next held in Rockland, in August, 1874, but was not 
so largely attended. The association returned to its first practice, 
and held the meeting of 1875 in November, at Augusta. The centen- 
nial educational exhibit of the State was here organized by State 
Superintendent Johnson, and placed in charge of a committee of 
educators from all parts of the State. 

At this meeting Mr. C. C. Rounds proposed the formation of a 
"professional organization of teachers," and preliminary steps toward 
that end were taken. The association next met at Bath, December 
27-29, 1876. Among other resolutions adopted were the following: 

Resolved, That no persons should be authorized to teach in our common schools 
except those who have had special preparation for such work in some higher 
institution of learning, and are at least 18 years of age. 

Resolved, That the introduction of free text-books into the common schools of 
the State would be a public benefit, and that we, as an association, recommend to 
each city and town the adoption of this plan. 

Resolved, That we recommend to the next legislature the enactment of a law 
providing for the establishment of city and town libraries throughout the State. 

The association met at Lewiston, December 27-29, 1877, in such 
numbers as to warrant a division into high, grammar, and primary 
sections for departmental work. Resolutions were adopted urging 
examination of teachers by county or State boards, and the distribu- 
tion of the State school fund on the basis of attendance rather than of 
census scholars. Similar resolutions were passed at the next meet- 
ing, held at Brunswick, December 26-28, 1878. The session of 1879 
was held at Gardiner. The reestablishment of the free high-school 
law, which the legislature had just suspended for one year was 
strongly recommended. The law was revived at the next session of 
the legislature! The fourteenth meeting of the association was held 
at Pittsfield, December 29-31, 1881, at the same time with that of the 
Maine Pedagogical Society. The fifteenth and last annual meeting 
was also held in connection with the same society, at Biddeford, 
December 29-31, 1882. Resolutions were adopted declaring the 
organization of county educational associations one of the most hope- 
ful signs of progress ; affirming that the district system had outlived 



EDUCATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS. 31 

its usefulness; denouncing the practice, common in small districts, 
of making six or eight weeks the length of the school year; and favor- 
ing temperance instruction in the public schools. 

The new professional society of educators had now become perma- 
nently established, and the need of two organizations, composed in 
great part of the same individuals, was no longer apparent. Accord- 
ingly the Maine Educational Association was given up, by the adop- 
tion of the following resolution presented by Thomas Tash, of Portland : 

Resolved, That the officers of this society be authorized and directed to collect 
and pass over to the officers of the Maine Pedagogical Society for safe-keeping, 
and for the use of that society, all the records, funds, and other property belong- 
ing to this association, and that no further meetings of this society be hereafter 
called. 

The association was in active operation during an important period 
in the history of education in Maine. It furnished over 100 lectures 
and essays at its meetings in important centers of population through- 
out the State. In these papers and the attendant discussions the 
views of experienced progressive educators were brought before large 
numbers of young teachers with good effect. Its resolutions were of 
great weight in determining public opinion and legislative action. 

The office of president of the association was held by Edward Bal- 
lard, D. D., State superintendent, 1867-68; A. P. Stone, principal 
Portland High School, 1868-69; J. H. Hanson, principal Waterville 
Classical Institute, 1869-70; C. C. Rounds, principal Farmington 
Normal School, 1870-71; Thomas Tash, superintendent Lewiston 
schools, 1871-72; C. B. Stetson, superintendent of Auburn schools, 
1872-73; G. T. Fletcher, principal Castine Normal School, 1873-74; 
A. A. Woodbridge, 1874-75; S. Libbey, Orono, 1875-76; AlbroE. Chase, 
principal High School, Portland, 1876-77; Prof. H. L. Chapman, 
Bowdoin College, 1877-78; Rev. A. W. Burr, principal Hallowell 
Classical Institute, 1878-79; W. J. Corthell, .principal Gorham Normal 
School, 1879-80; President M. C. Fernald, State Agricultural College, 
1880-81. 

MAINE TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION. 

At the annual meeting of the Maine State Educational Association 
in 1875 a committee was appointed to consider the desirability of 
forming a more distinctly professional society of teachers. This com- 
mittee called a meeting of teachers at Lewiston February 4, 1876, at 
which Mr. C. C. Rounds stated the object of the movement. A plan 
of organization was adopted and a committee appointed to prepare a 
constitution and by-laws, to be acted upon at the next meeting. A 
board of officers, with J. H. Hanson, of Waterville, as president, was 
elected. A paper on the "Pronunciation of Latin and Greek" was 
read by Mr. Hanson. The next meeting was held at Bangor May 3, 
1877. Several papers of great educational value were presented. 



32 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

Hon. W. J. Corthell, State superintendent, paid a glowing tribute to 
the labors of his predecessor, Hon. Warren Johnson. A constitution 
was adopted,' 7 in which the object of the association was defined to be 
"to consider all questions relating to teaching as a profession and to 
education in its varied departments, and to endeavor to promote our 
usefulness to the public as teachers and school superintendents, and 
to elevate and strengthen the character of our profession." The 
membership was limited to "professional teachers of at least one 
school year's experience in teaching and school superintendents in 
active service." 

C. C. Rounds was chosen president for 1877-78. The next annual 
meeting was held in Portland April 25-27, 1878, at which practical 
papers were read and discussed and an opportunity given for visiting 
the city schools. Rev. A. W. Burr was elected president for 1878-79. 
The final meeting of the Maine Teachers' Association was held at 
Waterville May 6-7, 1880. A number of papers were read and dis- 
cussed and a report presented by a committee chosen at Farmington 
in September, 1879, recommending the organization of "an associa- 
tion which shall bear the same relation to teaching that other pro- 
fessional associations bear to their respective professions." This 
report, read by Prof. H. L. Chapman, was adopted, and in accordance 
with its suggestions the association voted to transfer all its property 
and effects to the Maine Pedagogical Society, and adjourned sine die. 

MAINE PEDAGOGICAL SOCIETY. 

This society, the outgrowth of the two educational associations 
which preceded it, was organized at Waterville May 7, 1880. The 
constitution then adopted declares the purposes of the society to be 
"the consideration and discussion of all questions relating to the 
organization and government of schools, methods of instruction, pro- 
fessional standards, and the principles which should control the policy 
and legislation of the State in respect to education. " & The profes- 
sional character of the society is shown by its provisions with reference 
to members. Two orders of membership are recognized, corresponding 
to the different degrees of professional training and experience. Of 
the first order are ' ' graduates of colleges who have had ten years of 
successful experience in teaching, and nongraduates who have had ten 
years of successful experience in teaching and are instructors in col- 
leges, principals of normal schools, principals of preparatory schools, 
or of schools of an equal grade." Eligible to membership of the second 
class are " those who lack only length of experience to be eligible to 
membership of the first order : 1. Graduates of normal schools, and of 
seminaries and high schools certifying by a diploma to the completion 

a Proceedings Maine Pedagogical Society, 1880-1881. 

& Proceedings of the Maine Pedagogical Society for 1880-1881. Farmington, 
1883. 12°. (All published.) Maine school reports since 1885. 



EDUCATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS. 33 

of a regular course of study of at least three years' duration, who have 
had two years of successful experience in teaching; 2. Graduates of 
seminaries and high schools who are also graduates of normal schools 
and have had one year of successful teaching; 3. Teachers of at least 
two years of successful experience, not included in any of the classes 
above described, who maybe recommended by the advisory board." 
The membership was also extended to " superintendents of schools, 
and to persons, not teachers, who may be prominently connected with 
educational work." Applicants are required "to have read at least 
one standard work on pedagogics, including the history and philosophy 
of teaching." 

Rev. A. W. Burr, principal of the Hallowell Classical Academy, 
was chosen president; Prof. H. L. Chapman, Bowdoin College, vice- 
president; Prof. E. W. Hall, Colby University, secretary and treasurer, 
with an executive committee of five and an advisory board of the same 
number. > 

A special meeting of the society was held in Lewiston October 15 
and 16, 1880, At this meeting, Dr. C. C. Rounds spoke of the improve- 
ment in our schools within twenty-five years. Ex-Governor Dingley 
and State Superintendent Luce participated in the discussions. Hon. 
W. J. Corthell read a paper on "The employment of teachers by 
district agents," advocating a reform in the methods generally pre- 
vailing throughout the State. A committee was appointed to work 
in various ways to bring this matter favorably before the next legis- 
lature. 

At the meeting in Pittsfield, December 31, 1880, the society met in 
joint meeting with the Maine Educational Association, at one of its 
sessions, and listened to an address in behalf of "Free high schools,'' 
by Hon. Nelson Dingley, jr. Two divisions were formed of the 
society at the Augusta meeting, October 13-15, 1881, at which papers 
were read simultaneously. The address of the president, Rev. A. W. 
Burr, had for its subject "The moral education of the pupil." The 
society adopted resolutions urging the importance of legislative enact- 
ment to secure a minimum school year for all the public schools of 
the State. 

The proceedings of the society down to October 15, 1881, were 
printed in a small volume in 1883. It contains a list of members and 
abstracts of papers read before the society in 1880 and 1881, with 
a valuable historical paper by Supt. Thomas Tash, of Portland, 
read before the society at Bangor, May 26, 1882. It was the inten- 
tion of the society to publish annual volumes of its transactions, 
but the plan was not carried into effect. In the appendix to the 
Maine school reports for 1885 and for 1888 are given the reports of 
the society's committees on arithmetic, by C. C. Rounds, principal 
of Farmington Normal School; on geometry, by Prof. C. H. Smith, 
Bowdoin College; on reading, by W. J. Corthell, principal of Gorham 
10324— No. 3—03 — -3 



3-i EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

Normal School; and on moral instruction, by President M. C. Fer- 
nald, of the State Agricultural College. Abstracts of the papers and 
discussions of 1886 appear in the report for 1886. The report for 1887 
gives in full the address of the president, George B. Files, principal 
of the Augusta High School, on "The mission of the teacher," and 
other papers read at the meeting of that year. Three of the papers 
discuss temperance instruction. The Maine school report for 1888 
publishes the reports of the society's committee on physiology, by 
H. M. Estabrooke; on geography, by Rev. B. P. Snow; on history, by 
G. C. Purington, principal of the Farmington Normal School; also, 
papers read before the society by Prof. J. D. Taylor, on instruction 
in Latin in preparatory schools; by Miss M. L. E. Shaw, on the aim 
of our primary schools; by Prof. E. W. Hall, on the teacher and the 
library; and a memorial of Roliston Woodbury, by Dr. C. C. Rounds. 

The report for 1889 prints the society's papers on promotion of 
pupils, by G. B. Files; temperance instruction, by Mrs. G. F. French; 
education through the hand, by Miss Anna Barrows; on school super- 
intendence, by Fannie P. Hardy, W. P. Thompson, and Rev. B. P. 
Snow; on purposes and methods of recitation, by O. H. Drake and 
A. M. Thomas; teaching patriotism, by Levi Turner, jr.; professional 
work, by H. M. Estabrooke; Greek in the high school, by M. H. 
Small; and a memorial of Thomas Tash, by W. J. Corthell. 

The report for 1890 devotes 70 pages to the proceedings of the 
Maine Pedagogical Society at its eleventh annual meeting, giving in 
full all the papers and discussions of the session. The publication of 
the society's papers in the State school report is indicative of the 
superintendent's high opinion of the practical character of its work. 



Chapter III. 

BANGOR THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. 



One of the earliest education societies in the United States was the 
Society for Promoting Theological Education, formed at Portland in 
1810. A charter was obtained for this society from the general court 
of Massachusetts February 27, 1812. Its corporate members were 
Rev. John Sawyer, Eliphalet Gillett, Kiah Bayley, Jotham Sewall, 
Francis Brown, William Jenks, Asa Rand, Edward Payson, Asa 
Lyman, David Thurston, Gen. Henry Sewall, and Ammi R. Mitchell, 
nearly all of whom were Congregationalist ministers. The purpose 
of the society is stated in the charter to be " raising a fund to assist 
those well-disposed young men that are desirous of entering into the 
work of the gospel ministry, but by deficiency of pecuniary resources 
are unable to prosecute a course of regular studies necessary to 
qualify them for a station so important and useful. " This society 
had permission to make provision for theological instruction for a 
period of thirty years, and to hold property not to exceed the value of 
$20,000. It was required by the charter that the persons for whom 
appropriations were made by this society should be of the Protestant 
religion. 01 

The establishment of a literary and theological institution appeared 
to be the most direct means of effecting the chief object of the society. 
A committee was duly appointed to secure another charter for a theo- 
logical school, which they obtained February 25, 1814. The corpo- 
rators were Rev. John Sawyer, Kiah Bayle}^, Eliphalet Gillett, Wil- 
liam Jenks, Mighill Blood, Asa Lyman, David Thurston, Harvey 
Loomis, Hon. Ammi R. Mitchell, and Samuel E. Dutton, esq., seven 
of whom are named in the preceding charter. These corporate trus- 
tees were empowered " to establish in the county of Hancock a literal 
seminary, by the name of ' The Maine Charity School,' for the purpose 
of promoting religion and morality, and for the education of youth 
in such languages and in such of the liberal arts and sciences as the 
trustees thereof shall from time to time judge the most useful and 
expedient for the purposes of the said seminary." It is expressly 
stated in the third section of the charter that "no one shall ever be a 



« General and special laws of Massachusetts, Vol. V, p. 575. 

35 



o(3 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

trustee or hold any office in said seminary who is not a native-born 
citizen." It is further provided that the school may hold property 
the income of which does not exceed $15,000. a 

The Maine Charity School continued to be the legal title of the 
institution until January 28, 1887, when an act of the legislature was 
obtained authorizing it to take the additional name of "Bangor Theo- 
logical Seminary," by which it had long been known. The corpora- 
tion is permitted to use both names, or either one of them, hereafter. 

The terms of the charter may be interpreted to authorize the trus- 
tees, whenever they shall have the means, to establish not only a 
theological seminary, but an English or classical school, a teachers' 
seminary, or even a college, but with the limited income of $15,000 a 
year. At the first meeting of the trustees, held at the house of Maj. 
Samuel Moor, in Montville, May, 1814, Rev. Edward Payson was 
elected president; Rev. Eliphalet Gillet, vice-president; Rev. Kiah 
Bailey, secretary, and Samuel E. Dutton, esq., of Bangor, treasurer. 

It is characteristic of the missionary zeal of the founders that they 
decided to establish their school at some place near the frontier settle- 
ments instead of locating it in the midst of an older church-going 
community. An arrangement was made with the trustees of Hamp- 
den Academy, 5 miles from Bangor, and the seminary was opened at 
that place in October, 1816. During the first year it was under the 
charge of Mr. Jehudi Ashmun, since well known as the devoted agent 
of the Colonization Society in Liberia. 

The original plan of the institution was intended to meet the wants 
of ministerial students who lacked collegiate instruction. The studies 
of the first two years were to be chiefly classical and those of the last 
two devoted to theological studies. In June, 1817, the seminary com- 
pleted its organization, and Rev. Abijah Wines, of Newport, N". H., 
was appointed professor of theology; Mr. Jehudi Ashmun, professor 
of classical literature, and Mr. Ebenezer Cheever, preceptor of the 
preparatory school. The students lived in private families and assem- 
bled at the academy for instruction. In 1819 a lot of land in Bangor, 
containing about 7 acres, was given by the late Isaac Davenport, esq., 
of Milton, Mass., and the seminary removed to Bangor, where it now 
occupies the beautiful grounds included in the generous gift. 

Bangor, now the third city in the State, was then a small town of 
about 1,200 inhabitants, without a meeting house, and dependent on 
a hall over a store at City Point for church accomodations. What 
was afterwards known as "the old court-house " was engaged for the 
use of the seminary. A chapel was built in 1823, which was occupied 
by the preparatory school, as well as for worship and recitations of 
the theological students. The building was destroyed by fire several 
years later. 

« General and Special Laws of Massachusetts, Vol. VI, p. 420. Historical 
address at the semicentennial anniversary, July 27, 1870, by Enoch Pond, D. D. 



BANGOR THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. 37 

The second building erected was a commons house, finished in 1827. 
It served as a dormitory and boarding house for about ten years, 
until the large brick edifice was erected. It was then made into a 
double tenement, and has been occupied since by professors of the 
seminary. 

The general dormitory was built ten years after this, with funds 
raised by the general conference of the Congregational churches of 
Maine. It has been much improved since, the grounds around it 
properly graded, and furnished with concrete walks and tasteful 
shrubbery. The building was renovated and thoroughly refitted 
in 1877. 

The present commons hall was erected later. It is occupied by the 
students' boarding club, and by the matron and janitor with their 
families. A third dwelling house opposite the seminary grounds was 
purchased for a professor's residence, and a fourth erected in 1855 
within the inclosure. 

The chapel was dedicated in 1859. It contains, besides the chapel, 
lecture" rooms, a reading room, the cabinet of curiosities belonging to 
the students' society of missionary inquiry, and the library. 

The library consisted at first of the few volumes occasionally con- 
tributed by friends. The seminary had been in active operation 
fifteen years before any money was received for the purchase of 
books. More than forty years had elapsed when the generous fund 
established by the late Ichabod Washburn, esq., of Worcester, Mass., 
gave the library the nucleus of the $12,000 fund it now has. The 
library has grown to be a valuable collection, numbering upward of 
16,000 volumes, the whole admirably classified and arranged by the 
librarian, Prof. C. J. H. Ropes. 

FINANCIAL HISTORY. 

In its early days the seminary, having no endowment, was depend- 
ent on the gifts of its friends. The first considerable gift was from 
the ladies of the church in Newcastle, the sum of $300 collected and 
forwarded by the wife of the pastor, Rev. Kiah Bailey, the first secre- 
tary of the board of trustees. Other donations followed, not only 
from friends in Maine but also from other States. In 1835 a sub- 
scription of $100,000 for an endowment fund was started. The state 
of this subscription at the close of that year, as reported by the com- 
mittee in charge, indicated that $96,690 of this amount had been sub- 
scribed. Add to this the pledge of $16,666.67 made by Philip 
Coombs, esq., of Bangor, and $20,000 subscribed the spring before 
in Penobscot County, to endow the professorship of sacred rhetoric 
and ecclesiastical history, and we have a total of $133,356 which had 
been subscribed to the seminaiy during the year. a 

"American Quarterly Register, May, 1836, vol. 8, p. 369. 



3$ EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

This liberal subscription, however, had been raised in a time of 
speculation and fancied prosperity. Reverses and disaster soon 
followed, with great depreciation of property. Many who had sub- 
scribed in good faith found themselves unable to meet their engage- 
ments, or even to pay their honest debts. The result was that not 
more than one-third of the subscription was ever collected and the 
seminary was again in straitened circumstances. 

In 184:7 occurred another crisis in the history of the institution. 
The departure of Professor Shepard, and probably that of the rest of 
the faculty, was averted only by the prompt completion of the endow- 
ment of his professorship. In the opinion of Professor Pond these 
subscribers, chiefly citizens of Bangor, led by Hon. G. W. Pickering 
with a subscription of $5,000, saved the existence of the seminary, 
then threatened with disruption. 

Another successful effort was made in 1849, resulting in the endow- 
ment of two other professorships by funds amounting to $34,000. In 
these efforts to place the seminary on a firm basis it was demonstrated 
that it had already a firm hold on the denomination in Maine and 
elsewhere. Bequests amounting to $15,000 were received from the 
Waldo family, of Worcester, Mass., and later the sum of $40,000 from 
the Washburn family, of the same place. Among other liberal dona- 
tions and legacies were $5,000 from William E. Dodge, of New York; 
$10,000 from Dr. Jacob Hayes, of Charlestown, Mass. ; $13,000 from 
Hiram and William Fogg, of New York; $25,000 from Richard P. 
Buck, of Brooklyn, and $30,000 from Henry Winkley, of Philadelphia. 
The names of Waldo, Fogg, Buck, and Hayes are now associated with 
four professorships as their founders. 

The sum of $10,000 was raised in 1892 to endow the Bond lecture- 
ship. Many of the donations to the funds of the seminary have been 
given for special objects, such as the library, erection of buildings, 
for scholarships, and very liberally for students' aid funds. The per- 
manent endowment has not increased in like proportion and its 
income is still insufficient to meet the annual expenditures under the 
most careful management. 

OFFICERS OF INSTRUCTION. 

The professorship of sacred literature has been filled by Jehudi 
Ashmun, 1817-1819; Rev. Bancroft Fowler, 1819-1825; Rev. George E. 
Adams, D. D., 1827-1829; Rev. Alvan Bond, D. D., 1831-1835; Rev. 
Leonard Woods, D. D., LL. D., 1835-1839; Rev. Daniel S. Talcott, 
D. D., 1839-1881; Rev. Charles J. H. Ropes, 1881-82. 

The professors of systematic theology have been: Rev. Abijah 
Wines, D. D., 1817-1819; Rev. John Smith, D. D., 1819-1831; Rev. 
Enoch Pond, D. D., 1832-1855; Rev. Samuel Harris, D. D., LL. D., 
1855-1867; Rev. John R. Herrick, D. D., 1867-1873; Rev. William M. 



BANGOR THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. 39 

Barbour, D. I)., 1873^1877; Rev. Cyrus Hamlin, D. D., LL. D., 1877- 
1880; Rev. Lewis F. Stearns, D. D., 1880-1892. 

The chair of sacred rhetoric has been ably filled by Rev. George 
Shepard, D. D., 1836-1868; Rev. W. M. Barbour, D. L>., 1869-1875, 
and by Rev. John S. Sewall, D. D., since 1875. 

Two professors have had charge of the department of ecclesiastical 
history: Rev. Enoch Pond, D. D., from 1855 to 1870, and Rev. Levi 
L. Paine, D. D., now the senior professor, from 1870 to the present 
time. Rev. Francis B. Deniowas instructor in New Testament Greek 
from 1879 to 1882, when he was appointed to the chair of Old Testa- 
ment language and literature. Prof. C. J. H. Ropes has served as 
professor of New Testament language and literature since 1882. a 

GRADUATES AND STUDENTS. 

The first anniversary occurred August 2, 1820, when six young men 
received diplomas of the seminary and entered upon the work of the 
ministry. No class was graduated in 1821, nor in the years 1830 and 
1833. The 68 classes which have gone forth between the years 1820 
and 1890 have comprised 700 graduates from the full course and 200 
who studied one or two years only. These men have been a faithful 
and useful body of workers, the majority of whom are still at their 
posts in pulpits of many denominations and of every grade of 
eminence. 

The number of students in attendance in 1892 is 41, of whom two 
are from Turkey, one each from Syria, Japan, and England, and two 
from Scotland. 

The plan of instruction has received several modifications. Orig- 
inally designed to offer a four years' course, two years being devoted 
to classical studies preparatory to theological work, in 1827 the clas- 
sical department was delegated to a separate instructor, the terms of 
admission were raised, and the course of study shortened to three 
years in conformity with that of the older seminaries in the country. 
This change strengthened the institution greatly, in the estimation of 
its friends. 5 In the same year the American Education Society 
received as its beneficiaries such students as needed pecuniary assist- 
ance, and the general conference of Maine established a vital connec- 
tion and interest in the seminary by accepting the invitation of the 
trustees to send a committee year by year to look into the affairs of 
the institution, attend its anniversaries, and report upon its condition 
and prospects. This continues to be done, and great benefit has 
resulted from the interest and intelligent supervision thus awakened/ 

« General statistical catalogue, 1820-1890; Annual catalogues, 1868-1892. 
6 American Quarterly Register, October, 1827, vol. 1, p. 23. 
^ Minutes Maine General Conference, 1892, p. 122. 



40 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

Up to 1833 no students had applied for admission who were gradu- 
ates of college. The original purpose of the school to offer only clas- 
sical instruction the first two years naturally deterred those from 
entering who had enjoyed the advantages of a college training. This 
feeling was not wholly overcome until several college graduates en- 
tered in 1833 and 1834. This action on their part was felt to be a. 
sacrifice of personal feelings to a sense of duty, and Dr. Pond de- 
clares that these young men "did more to advance the interests of 
the seminary at that time than if they had given thousands of dol- 
lars." Still, the proportion of college graduates among the students 
has always been small, amounting in 1892 to only one-fifth. The 
provision for classical instruction at the seminary was terminated 
in 1836. 

The students have themselves for many years managed the board- 
ing department of the seminary, making the/ir choice of a steward and 
matron, regulating the bill of fare and assessing the expense at the 
close of the term. The plan works admirably and reduces both ex- 
pense and fault-finding to a minimum. 

COURSE OF STUDY. 

The present course of study covers three years and is distributed as 
follows : 

Junior year. — New Testament Greek, Hebrew language, Old Tes- 
tament theology and history, exegesis of .New Testament, Biblical 
criticism, Bible history, mental philosophy, and rhetoric. 

Middle year. — Theology, in its several divisions ; church history to> 
fourth century, exegesis in Hebrew and the New Testament, vocal 
culture, and oratory. 

Senior year. — Church history from the fourth century; historical 
theology, the Reformation, church polity, homiletics and pastoral 
theology, exegesis of the Psalms in Hebrew and of the Epistle to the 
Romans. 

Advanced courses are offered in Hebrew, Biblical Aramaic, Syriac, 
Assyrian, and Arabic. A course of pastoral lectures is also given 
during the year by experienced pastors of Congregational churches in 
Maine. The Bond lectureship, for which the Alumni have nearly 
completed an endowment of $10,000, is intended to provide for com- 
petent discussion of subjects of vital importance at the time. 

As reported in 1888-89, the seminary grounds and buildings are 
valued at $65,000, and the amount of productive endowment funds is 
8209,000, yielding an annual income of $13,762, to which about $1,000 
may be added from other sources. a 

« Report of the United States Commissioner of Education, 1888-89, p. 1173. 



Chapter IV. 

BOWDOIN COLLEGE. 
By George T. Little, Librarian. 



ESTABLISHMENT. 

Bowdoin College owes its origin to a widespread feeling among the 
people of Maine of the need of an institution for the higher education 
within their borders. The three eastern counties of Massachusetts — 
York, Cumberland, and Lincoln — which acquired by the action of the 
Continental Congress in 1778 the name of the district of Maine, had 
rapidly increased in population after the close of the Revolution. 
The census of 1790 reported, in round numbers, 100,000 inhabitants. 
A large part of these were natives of the western portion of the Com- 
monwealth and accustomed to the educational facilities the older 
towns had long enjoyed. They desired similar privileges for their 
children. But they were poor, and the 100 miles that separated 
Portland from Boston was a more effective farrier than thrice that 
distance to-day. The higher education, if for any save the few 
wealthy families, must be had nearer at hand. The earliest recorded 
expression of this demand for a college came from Lincoln County, 
one of whose representatives in the general court offered in 1787 a 
bill for the establishment of Winthrop College. a This bill failed of 
enactment. The next fall the justices of the peace of Cumberland 
County in their capacity as a court of sessions petitioned the general 
court for a college, quoting from the second section of the fifth chapter 
of the State Constitution. 6 At the same time the Cumberland asso- 
ciation of ministers sent a similar petition. This body was composed 
of Congregational clergymen, all save one graduates of Harvard Col- 
lege, and represented, with but three exceptions, all the churches 

a Journals of the Rev. Thomas Smith and the Rev. Samuel Deane, with notes by 
William Willis, page 370. 

& The first half of this section is. "Wisdom and knowledge as well as virtue, 
diffused generally among the body of the people * * * being necessary for 
the preservation of their rights and liberties, and as these depend on spreading the 
opportunities and advantages of education in the various parts of the country and 
among the different orders of the people, it shall be the duty of legislatures and 
magistrates in all future periods of this Commonwealth to cherish the interests of 
literature and the sciences and all seminaries of them." 

41 



4*2 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

that held religious services regularly within this county. These peti- 
tions were acted upon in several successive legislatures, but owing to 
lukewarmness and ill-concealed opposition on the part of representa- 
tives from the western counties, and also to disagreement among its 
friends as to its name and location, the act incorporating Bowdoin 
College to be located at Brunswick in the district of Maine was not 
signed by the governor until June 24, 1794. In at least one town, 
Hallowell, the people assembled in town meeting had formally 
instructed their representative to take all proper means to secure the 
granting of this charter. The result of this general desire for better 
educational privileges is also seen in the establishment of five acad- 
emies in various parts of the district while the agitation for a college 
was going on. 

PROVISIONS OF THE CHARTER. 

The act of incorporation states the purpose of the institution to be 
the education of youth in the knowledge of languages, and of the 
useful and liberal arts and sciences, and the promotion of virtue and 
piety. It defines at length the officers and provinces of the two bodies 
associated in the government and regulation of the college. These are 
the trustees and overseers. The former board consists of not more than 
13 nor less than 7, of whom the president and the treasurer of the col- 
lege are ex-officio members. They have the right to remove any one 
of their number when, by reason of age or otherwise, he shall become 
incapable of discharging the duties of his office ; to fill all vacancies ; 
to hold real and personal estate, the net annual income of which shall 
not exceed "ten thousand pounds ;" a to confer such degrees as are 
usually conferred by universities ; to elect the president, professors, 
and instructors, to fix their salaries and define their duties, and in 
general to act as the executive board of the institution. No action of 
theirs, however, has validity until it is agreed to by the overseers. 
These also form a corporate body, consisting of not more than 45 nor 
less than 25 persons, with a quorum of 15. They have the right to 
remove a member for incapacity or neglect of duty, to fill all vacancies 
in their number, to require an account of the treasurer of the college 
and to fix the amount of his bond, and, especially, to exercise the 
veto power mentioned in the preceding sentence. The seventeenth 
and closing section of the charter grants from the unappropriated 
lands belonging to the Commonwealth five townships, each 6 miles 
square, with the provision that the trustees or their assigns shall 
cause 15 families to be settled on each of these townships within 
twelve years. The customary reserve is also made in each township 

« By enabling acts passed by the legislatures of Massachusetts and Maine in 1891, 
and accepted by the boards of the college, this proviso is removed and the institu- 
tion is not restricted as to the amount of funds it may hold in carrying out the 
purposes of its charter. 



BOWDOIN COLLEGE. 43 

of lots of 320 acres each for the first settled minister, for the use of 
ministry, and for the use of the schools. 

These provisions for the management of the college were probably 
influenced by those prevailing at Harvard, which then had a board of 
overseers, including the clergy of the vicinage as well as the members 
of the State senate. The disadvantages resulting from the conduct of 
college interests by two separate bodies were fully and forcibly stated 
at the very beginning of the century by President Timothy Dwight of 
Yale on the occasion of his visit to Brunswick in 1807. a 

The existence of a large board with no power to originate but with 
merely the right to negative the measures proposed by a smaller body 
renders the government "uncertain, prolix, and indecisive ; furnishes 
room for the operation of multiplied personal interests, prejudices, 
intrigues, and unfortunate compromises, and, generally, prevents 
the order, energy, and decision attendant upon a single board." To 
secure the prosperity of a college a definite plan, embracing all its 
interests, should be carefully formed and closely followed. All who 
are" to vote should both clearly understand this plan, and also have 
sufficient acquaintance with the affairs of the college to comprehend 
readily the relation of each new measure to the general scheme and 
its probable influence on measures already adopted. This he main- 
tains can not be done by a large number of men busily employed in 
totally different concerns. Their votes will be governed by the impulse 
of the moment, by attachment to a friend, or by party prejudice. A 
public seminary so governed can never become prosperous, he con- 
cludes, save ' ' by the peculiarly meritorious labors of a wise and vig- 
orous faculty." 

The evils foreseen and described have been realized on several 
occasions. Fortunately, during the period in which they were most 
noticeable, they were more than neutralized by the loyal and efficient 
group of men who then formed the teaching force, and whose formal 
title for many years was "the executive government." The num- 
ber and the influence, however, of the overseers who have become 
acquainted with the needs and have kept themselves informed as to the 
interests of the institution have been so great, and the assistance they 
have rendered so material, that a recent proposal to do away with this 
board met with comparatively little approval. The experience of the 
college with reference to changes in its charter, as will appear later in 
this sketch, has also discouraged all attempts to modify it in any 
important provision. 

ORGANIZATION. 

Slow progress was made in the task of organizing the college. Eight 
years elapsed between the granting of the charter and the beginning 
of instruction. The two governing boards had different theories as 

« Travels in New England and New York, volume 2, page 212. 



44 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

to the cause of this. The overseers claimed that the trustees were old 
and dilatory. The trustees maintained that the lack of money was 
the root o( all the evils under which the institution labored; further- 
more, if they were slow, the overseers were obstinate. The records 
seem to indicate that the latter were overanxious to have their own 
way in the matter of the size and cost of the first building to be 
erected. For this purpose they were willing to dispose of two of the 
five townships granted by the State, and their repeated vetoes of the 
more cautious proposals of the trustees delayed action. Again, some 
time was lost by the failure of each board to obtain a quorum for 
one important special meeting to be held at Brunswick. The real 
reason for the delay was inability to realize a sufficient amount of 
money from the unproductive lands granted by the State. ' ' There 
was much land in the market selling at 20 cents [an acre] and even 
lower, and it was difficult to sell at any priced 

To sell the college townships for a lower price than such property 
had obtained in the past and was likely to secure in the future, seemed 
an unwise course to the committee having the matter in charge. 
Fortunately, as the sequel proved, their conservative counsels 
prevailed. 

In 1798 a beginning was made upon "a house for the use of the 
college," the building now known as "Massachusetts Hall." It was 
modeled after Hollis Hall, at Cambridge, and was to be completed as 
rapidly as the treasurer could pay the $2,400 appropriated for its erec- 
tion. The site had been chosen two years before, on the pine-covered 
plain to the south of the village of Brunswick. The 30 acres of land 
selected for the campus had been given by Col.. William Stanwood 
and others, and 200 acres additional had been transferred to the col- 
lege by vote of the town. But the market for wild land was even 
duller in the two following than it had been in the two preceding years, 
and in 1800 both boards voted to apply to the general court for a grant 
of money to enable them to carry out the purposes of their organization. 
This resulted in nothing. Fortunately the next year two townships 
were sold on favorable terms. Measures were at once taken for the 
early completion of Massachusetts Hall, and a special meeting was 
called for the election of a president. 

STATE AID. 

The bounty of the State was so important a factor in the establish- 
ment of the college and in its successful operation for a number of years, 
that a summary of the aid thus received may with propriety be 
given at this point. The five townships mentioned in the charter 
were located and formally transferred to the college in 1796. They 
are now known as " Dixmont," " Sebec," " Foxcroft," " Guilford," and 

« Manuscript letter of Hon. Alden Bradford, dated February 3, 1835. 



BOWDOIN COLLEGE. 45 

i 'Abbot." Their cash value, if estimated by the average price per 
acre received by the Commonwealth for other land sold in that year, 
was $18,630. The expenses of surveying and settling were consider- 
able, but \the amount eventually realized by the college from this 
charter endowment was far larger than the sum just stated. Over 
$20,000 was received for Dixmont in 1801, and Foxcroft was sold for 
#7,940 the same year. Sebec brought about $14,000 in 1803. Guilford 
and Abbot were sold mainly in small lots directly to settlers, and, as 
many sales were canceled, it is impossible to state the net proceeds. 
In 1806, the town now known as Etna, was granted the college. Its 
value on the basis mentioned above, viz, the selling price of that 
year, was $11,635. It is doubtful if so much was realized from it, but 
it permitted the erection of a large and much-needed dormitory. Two 
years later the legislature granted two more townships, which the 
college attempted in vain to dispose of without locating. In 1813 
they were located in the tenth range, north of the Waldo patent, and 
are still known as the " Bowdoin College grant." Their cash value at 
that time may be estimated at $11,520. It was impossible to dispose 
of them to advantage till the land speculation in 1833, when they 
brought $29,440. In 1804 the legislature gave Williams College and 
Bowdoin College "a residuum of land in Sullivan." This land proved 
to be a succession of ledges, and was unsalable till 1832, when 
Bowdoin obtained $2,000 for her half. 

Much of the cash received from the sales prior to 1816 was neces- 
sarily employed upon the four college buildings which had been 
erected. The income, irregular and uncertain in its character, from 
the remainder of the proceeds and from private benefactions was 
insufficient to meet the current college expenses. For at least three 
years the president and senior professor remitted a large portion of 
their salary, which was, however, in the comparative prosperity of 
later years, returned to them. Under these circumstances, a lottery 
was proposed as a means of raising ready money, that had been suc- 
cessful in the case of other institutions. Fortunately for the record, 
if not for the wealth of the college, the lower board vetoed the proj- 
ect, and the request was not brought before the legislature. In 1814 
came the much-needed money grant. A bank tax of $16,000 a year, 
to be laid for ten years, was distributed between Harvard, Williams, 
and Bowdoin, the former receiving $10,000, the two latter $3,000. 
Each college was to receive one-fourth of the grant in defraying the 
tuition of worthy indigent students. To Bowdoin this annual $3,000 
was of incalculable benefit. It increased the number of students by 
placing an education within the reach of many young men from the 
newly settled towns, to whom the tuition charge of $20 was in those 
days a formidable obstacle. It gave permanence to the teaching force 
of five, and fair promise of a future increase in the number of profes- 
sors as the wild lands were sold. On the separation of Maine from 



46 •EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

Massachusetts before the ten years had expired, provision was made 
for the continuance of this grant by the new State. It was renewed 
by the Maine legislature for the term of seven years from February, 
1824. and was discontinued in 1831. The college, therefore, has 
received from the State $51,000 in money, and has undoubtedly real- 
ized as much more from the lands bestowed upon it. The Medical 
School of Maine, a department of the college, has also received various 
grants at different times, amounting in all to $20,000. 

THE BOWDOIN BENEFACTIONS. 

While the movement for a college charter was going on, Governor 
James Bowdoin closed a -public career marked in the highest degree 
by patriotism and statesmanship. The deep and general regret felt 
at his death led to the selection of his surname as the one to be com- 
memorated by the new institution. Governor Bowdoin was the grand- 
son of Pierre Baudouin, a Huguenot refugee, who lived for a short time 
at Portland, and the son of James Bowdoin, of Boston, thfe wealthiest 
of New England merchants in colonial times. He was educated at 
Harvard, was a friend of Franklin and a fellow-laborer with him in 
scientific research, and was foremost among the founders and the first 
president of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. As dele- 
gate to the first Congress at Philadelphia, as president of the con- 
vention for framing the State constitution, and as governor of the 
Commonwealth during Shay's rebellion, his services to the State were 
nob surpassed in value by those of any of his famous contemporaries. 

At the first meeting of the trustees, in December, 1794, a letter was 
read from Hon. James Bowdoin expressing his appreciation of the 
respect shown his father's memory in the name chosen for the col- 
lege, and announcing a gift of $1,000 in specie and 1,000 acres of land 
in the town of Bowdoinham. The land was valued by the recipients 
at $3,000. The gentleman who thus became the first patron of the 
college had a less prominent, but hardly less honorable, career than 
his father. Educated at Harvard and at the University of Oxford, 
he inherited his father's tastes for natural history and scientific 
research, to which he gave much attention. He served repeatedly 
in both branches of the Massachusetts legislature, and was appointed 
by President Jefferson minister plenipotentiary to Spain and subse- 
quently associate minister to France. During his residence abroad 
of nearly four years he purchased many valuable books, a finely 
arranged and classified cabinet of minerals and fossils, with models 
in crystallography, and many paintings and drawings by old and 
modern masters. All these he bequeathed to the college. Before 
the institution was open for instruction he gave $2,800 for the estab- 
lishment of a professorship of mathematics and of natural and experi- 
mental philosophy, with the request that the interest be added to the 
principal until a professor should be appointed. Shortlj r before his 



BOWDOLN COLLEGE. 47 

death, which occurred October 11, 1811, he transferred to the college 
a tract of land in Lisbon consisting of 6,000 acres. By the provisions 
of his will the college, as a residuary legatee, subsequently received 
upward of $33,000. 

PRESIDENT McKEEN'S ADMINISTRATION. 

At a special meeting of the board called in July, 1801, for the elec- 
tion of a president, several nominations were made; the choice fell 
upon Rev. Joseph McKeen, pastor at Beverly, Mass. President 
McKeen was born October 15, 1757, at Londonderry, 1ST. H., of Scotch- 
Irish descent. He graduated at Dartmouth at 17 years of age, taught 
and studied in his native town for. eight years, and then, after a brief 
course in natural philosophy and astronomy at Harvard, gave himself 
to the study of theology, which he pursued under the direction of 
Rev. Mr. Williams, of Windham, N. H. In 1785 he was called to the 
pastorate of the church at Beverly, which had been made vacant by 
the elevation of Rev. Dr. Willard to the presidency of Harvard. This 
he filled for seventeen years with great acceptableness. He brought 
to the college the reputation of a sound divine, an able scholar, and 
a polished gentleman, but it was his discriminating judgment which 
made his brief administration of greatest value. 

In the summer of 1802, in company with the professor-elect of 
ancient languages, John Abbot, a graduate of Harvard and for five 
years tutor there, President McKeen visited Cambridge, Providence, 
New Haven, and Williamstown to acquaint himself from actual inspec- 
tion with the modes of government and the course of instruction pur- 
sued in the New England colleges. With a wise boldness he adopted 
the same qualifications for admission that were then required at Har- 
vard. Although these were only "the principles of the Latin and 
Greek languages, the translation of English into Latin, the select ora- 
tions of Cicero, the iEneid of Virgil, and arithmetic as far as the rule 
of three," the young college stood in this respect in advance of others 
older and wealthier. 

In September, 1802, the president and the senior professor were 
formally inaugurated into their new positions. The ceremony took 
place in the pine grove that occupies part of the campus, for no build- 
ing at hand was large enough to accommodate the assemblage which 
the long desired opening of the college had attracted from different 
parts of the State. The scene must have been an impressive one when 
at the close of a brief address, in which he had set forth simply and 
plainly the purpose and the policy of the institution, President McKeen 
besought all present to unite in the prayer that the new seminary 
might ' ' eminently contribute to the advancement of useful knowledge, 
the religion of Jesus Christ, the best interests of man, and the glory 
of God." The next day eight young men, of whom two were from 
Beverly, Mass., were admitted, and college work began in the newly 



48 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

completed Massachusetts Hall. The president's house was still in 
the process of erection, and for a few months one roof covered both 
faculty and students, while the president's study served as chapel and 
recitation room. 

Of the exact course of stiuty pursued by these young men, or rather 
boys, for their average age was 16, the writer finds no definite state- 
ment. Doubtless it was similar to that at Harvard at that time, for 
the young college followed very closely in many details the institu- 
tion that may be considered its mother. The character of the presi- 
dent's instruction may be judged from the following, written by a 
member of that first class : 

As a teacher in mathematics he was lucid, and uncommonly successful in his 
illustrations. The exemplification of abstract propositions by models has been 
introduced into modern practice, but at the time referred to it was, if at all, very 
sparingly used. With Dr. McKeen it was a familiar custom. Some of the prop- 
erties of conic sections, in particular, were so illustrated. As a teacher of histor- 
ical science he evinced a philosophic mind and generalized its lessons with happy 
effect and useful results. As a teacher of intellectual and moral philosophy he 
exhibited a thorough comprehension of his subject, and was felicitous in gather- 
ing illustrations from actual life. * * * Dr. McKeen had eminent adminis- 
trative and gubernatorial talent. He very highly estimated the efficiency of what 
is termed "moral suasion," but probably never dreamed of its being the exclusive 
means of government. He never mistook men for angels. « 

The punishments inflicted for misbehavior during this administra- 
tion and the two following were fines, public admonition, and sus- 
pension. The first were imposed for neglect of college duties and 
minor irregularities. The second was employed when private reproofs 
and warnings seemed without avail. Suspension, or rustication was 
always for a considerable period of time. The* culprit was required 
to reside with and be instructed by a clergyman, selected by the fac- 
ulty. The result was usually a change in the character of the young 
man or his permanent separation from the institution. The public 
admonition was so characteristic of the day in its formality that the 
following extract from the records of the faculty is almost necessary 
to convey a clear idea of what it was. The admonitions were given 
in the chapel, before the entire body of students: 

At a meeting of the executive government of Bowdoin College April 2, 1805, 
present, the president, Messrs. Abbot and Willard. On examination, it appeared 
that A. B. and C. D. had been guilty of repeated acts of violence, committed on 
each other under the influence of ungoverned passion; therefore, 

Voted, that the said A. B. and C. D. be publicly admonished for the same. 

Voted, that their names and offenses be entered on the record. 

The following admonition was accordingly administered: 

It is with pain that we find ourselves under a necessity of calling you forward in 
the presence of your fellow-students to be reproved and admonished for the repeated 
acts of violence into which you have suffered yourselves to be hurried by ungov- 
erned passion. We did indulge a hope that the remembrance of the disgraceful 



« Manuscript address by John M. O'Brien, esq., class of 1806. 



BOWDOIN COLLEGE. 49 , 

scene exhibited by you on- the Fourth of July and the parental admonition then 
given you would have had a better effect. We are sorry to say we are disappointed, 
and that we have perceived less indication of remorse or penitence in this instance 
than in that. We earnestly recommend to your serious consideration the solemn 
warning in the first verse of the twenty-ninth chapter of Proverbs, " He that being 
often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed and that without 
remedy." You can not plead in extenuation of your last offense that it was the 
effect of a sudden impulse, which allowed you no time for reflection. After your 
anger was kindled, but before you proceeded to acts of violence, it might have been 
hoped that the ringing of the bell for prayers and your attendance at the devo- 
tional exercises in the chapel would have awakened different sentiments in your 
breast, but it appears that immediately after prayers you walked deliberately 
together into the woods, where, as your faces show, your treatment of each other 
resembled that of savage beasts much more than of Christians or young gentle- 
men who are receiving a liberal education. Tenderness to you and your friends 
heretofore restrained us from entering your names and offenses upon the college 
records, but in this instance we think you have no right to that indulgence. The 
aggravations of this offense would, in our opinion, have clearly justified us in 
suspending for a time your connection with the college, but as our object is your 
reformation, not your infamy, we were unwilling to inflict so public a censure till 
a fair experiment was made of the more private methods of discipline. That we 
may engage the cooperation of your parents we have thought it our duty to 
acquaint them with your behavior. Should their endeavors and ours prove inef- 
fectual, we shall be under the painful necessity of banishing you for a time from 
the society of your fellow-students, lest your example should corrupt their morals 
and tarnish the reputation of this infant seminary. 

We feel it to be our duty to exhort you to repentance, and we pray God to work 
in you sincere contrition for this and all your sins, to clothe you with humility, 
and to put upon you the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, that " putting away 
all bitterness and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, ye may be fol- 
lowers of God, as dear children, and walk in love as Christ loved us and gave 
Himself for us." 

If consideration be had of their limited resources, it is clear that 
the trustees pursued at the outset a liberal policy in regard to salaries 
and apparatus. President McKeen received $1,000 a year, the use of 
the president's house, erected for him at an expense of about $2,500, 
and 1,000 acres of the wild land which made up in such large measure 
the collegiate endowment. His salary was soon increased to $1 , 200 and 
that of the first professor, who was unmarried, raised to $800. What 
these amounts meant then can be seen by the following extract from a 
pamphlet advocating the separation of Maine and dedicated to Rev. 
Dr. Samuel Deane, who was the vice-president of the trustees : 

But in order to show that the sum of £300 (colonial currency and equal to 
$1,000) is ample for the support of a governor, it may be said that there is no part 
of the district where that sum regularly paid and economically expended will not 
support a family in as good a style as will be consistent with the present state of 
society in this part of the country. The refinements of luxury in this wooden 
world would be ridiculous." 

Steps were at once taken toward the formation of a library. Dif- 
ferent individuals early presented some 300 volumes; by the liberality 
10324— No. 3—03 4 



50 EDUCATION IN MAI1SE. 

of Madam Elizabeth Bowdoin, the widow of the governor, the presi- 
dent was enabled to expend £100 in the purchase of valuable refer- 
ence books in London; and in 1803 $1,000 was appropriated for the 
library and a thousand more for apparatus. The college already 
possessed by special gifts a valuable air pump costing upward of $300, 
given by gentlemen of Salem and the vicinity, and an equatorial and 
other astronomical apparatus, to which were added within a few years 
a telescope valued at $500, the gift of Hon. William Phillips, of Bostqpi, 
and the electrical, chemical, and mineralogical apparatus of Hon. 
James Bowdoin, with his elaborate collection of minerals and models 
in crystallography, valued at $1,000. These, with the purchases 
made from the appropriation referred to, enabled the young college 
to claim during the first quarter of the century that only Harvard 
surpassed it in equipment for scientific study. 

On the admission of a third class in 1804, Mr. Samuel Willard, a 
recent graduate of Harvard and afterwards for many years pastor 
of the church at Deerfield, Mass., was engaged as a tutor. For the 
next two decades this custom was followed of increasing the body of 
instructors by the annual appointment of one or more tutors who lived 
in the college buildings and were expected to exercise an influence 
upon the students and maintain control over those who showed them- 
selves disposed to be unruly. Among the men who thus served the 
college and unquestionably left the impress of their character and 
scholarship upon the early graduates were Rev. Dr. Benjamin Tap- 
pan, of Augusta; Prof. Andrews Norton, of Harvard, and Hev. Dr. 
Nathan Parker, of Portsmouth, N. H. 

The year 1805 was marked by the establishment of the chair of mathe- 
matics and natural philosophy and the inauguration of Parker Cleave- 
land as its occupant. Professor Cleaveland graduated at Harvard in 
1799, and his success as a tutor at Cambridge led to his appointment 
at Brunswick. His attention was early directed toward mineralogy 
and chemistry, and these two sciences in succession won his complete 
attention, and the teaching of them before long required his entire 
energy. Lectures upon chemistry and mineralogy became a part of 
the collegiate course of study as early as 1808. In 1816 he issued his 
Elementary Treatise on Mineralogy and Geology, which embodied 
the subject-matter of his lectures, and the result of several years of 
indefatigable study with the best helps then available. 

This book put him at once in the front rank of American mineral- 
ogists. It combined the excellencies of the French and German 
theories as to the classification of rocks, presented the labors of Euro- 
pean mineralogists in attractive form, added new species and local- 
ities, and thus began to pay in part the heavy debt in science which 
America owed Europe. The commendation it received from the press 
and from fellow-scientists on both sides of the ocean was warm and 
hearty. Silliman's Journal of Science and Arts ends a long review 



BOWDOIN COLLEGE. 51 

with, "in our opinion this work does honor to our country and will 
greatly promote the knowledge of mineralogy and geology, besides 
aiding in the great work of disseminating a taste for science gener- 
ally." The Edinburgh Review styled it "the most useful work on 
mineralogy in our language." It was used by Dr. Clarke, professor 
of mineralogy in the University of Cambridge, and was employed as a 
text-book in all American colleges where the study was pursued. 
Humboldt, while in London, borrowed the copy belonging to the Geo- 
logical Society, whose collection was arranged according to its system, 
and carried it home with him. Goethe, in one of his miscellanies, 
coupled Cleaveland with a German geologist and extended a kind sal- 
utation. Some sixteen different scientific societies abroad and in this 
country added his name to their membership rolls. He received more 
or less formal offers of professorships from Harvard, Princeton, the 
University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Virginia, in several 
cases at more than double the salary he then received, which began 
with $800, and never exceeded $1,200 and his house rent. His attach- 
ment to the college and his dislike of change, a marked characteristic 
of the man, led to the refusal of proposals at which other men would 
have grasped. The book which had so quickly brought to the atten- 
tion of the world the character of the scientific instruction in the little 
"down east " college passed through a second edition in 1822 and then 
was abandoned, so to speak, by its parent. 

On the establishment o»f the medical school in 1820, Professor Cleave- 
land was appointed professor of chemistry and materia medica, and 
secretary of the medical faculty. These new duties v involved the 
extension of his course in chemistry and added much administrative 
detail to the work of instruction. They led him gradually to neglect 
his former favorite science, and to devote most of his time and atten- 
tion to chemistry and the interests of the new school. Henceforth 
teaching and not research engrossed his energies. His chemical lec- 
tures were given with wonderful regularity till his death in 1858, and 
were listened to by over 2,000 students. The important place they 
held for half a century in the curriculum justifies, it is believed, the 
following detailed description : 

They were delivered in the spring term, at 2 o'clock in the afternoon, four days 
in the week, before an auditory composed of the medical students and the two 
upper classes in college. After an early breakfast, it was his invariable custom, 
continued to the last years of his life, to go to his laboratory and employ the 
whole intervening time in preparing for the lesture of the day, laying out his 
topics, performing beforehand every experiment, and practicing every manipula- 
tion. These preparations were interrupted only by the frugal repast sent to him 
from his house in a small basket when the dinner hour had arrived. In these 
preparations he always had one or more assistants. * * * When at length the 
hour of the lecture had arrived and the eager and punctual audience had assembled, 
and, after seven minutes by the watch, the door was closed, and silence prevailed, 
and the professor stood forth amidst his batteries and retorts, master of his sub- 
ject and of the mighty agents he had to deal with, he was then indeed in his 



52 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

element and in his glory. Though clad in garments almost rustic, lie had a dig- 
nity of appearance and an air of command by which the eye of every student was 
kept fixed and all listlessness and inattention were banished. His stern and ven- 
erable features were lit up with a glow of genuine enthusiasm. Forgetful of him- 
self, he became wholly absorbed in his subject. He professed no great discov- 
eries: he propounded no new theories; he made no pedantic display of learning, 
but with the modesty of true wisdom aimed only to exhibit those certain facts 
and obvious inductions which constitute the elements of his science. Having 
clearly conceived of these, and having them well arranged in his own mind, he 
produced them in a clear and orderly manner. There was no confusion in his 
thoughts and none in his discourse. By his clear and simple style and its easy 
and uninterrupted flow, by his lucid order, by the earnestness of his manner, by 
the interest with which he seemed to regard the smallest and most common things 
pertaining to his theme, by his happy illustrations and never-failing experiments, 
and by his occasional sallies of wit and good humor, he carried along the delighted 
attention of his hearers without weariness to the end of his hour, making plain 
to them what had been obscure, investing even trivial things, by a salutary illu- 
sion, with an air of importance, and, in short, accomplishing, in a manner which 
has never been surpassed, the great object of conveying to the mind of the learner 
definite notions and useful knowledge on the subject under consideration. * * * 
Besides these lectures, he heard recitations from the senior class at an early hour 
in the morning every day in the week through the successive terms of the college 
year. He always prepared himself the night before for his morning lesson, espe- 
cially revolving in his mind as he was going to sleep such topics of instruction as 
he might wish to give in addition to his text-book. And when the morning came, 
year in and year out, his punctual feet crossed the threshold of the recitation room 
at the appointed moment with the regularity of the planetary revolutions, alike in 
summer and in winter, in fair weather and in foul, in health and in sickness. 

Massachusetts Hall, the scene of Professor Cleaveland's labors, is 
the only one remaining of the three college buildings erected and 
completed during President McKeen's administration. The interior 
has been twice remodeled. The first floor contains the oflices of the 
college treasurer and the lecture room of the professor of biology and 
geology. In the corner of the latter may be seen the old brick fire- 
place with iron crane and several pieces of the rude apparatus used by 
the teacher who for years met his classes here. It was a coincidence 
perhaps worthy of mention that the gas apparatus employed by him 
came from Dr. Beddoes's pneumatic institution at Bristol, and was 
made while Sir Humphry Davy, then a youth, was acting as assistant 
there. The latter, grown to manhood and to fame, was one of the first 
to congratulate Professor Cleaveland on the success of his labors in 
mineralogy. The two original upper stories of the building have been 
thrown into a single hall, called the Cleaveland Cabinet, 48 feet by 38, 
and 23 feet in height. A gallery, reached by spiral staircases, sur- 
rounds the room. The greater part of the 14 alcoves and the cases on 
the main floor are given up to the mineralogical collections formed by 
Professor Cleaveland. In addition there are shelved in this room and 
in the galleries the Hauy collection of minerals, the gift of Hon. James 

« Address on the life and character of Parker Cleaveland, LL. D., by Leonard 
Woods, D. D. Brunswick: 1860. 



BOWDOIN COLLEGE. 53 

Bowdoin ; the museum of the first geological survey of Maine ; the min- 
eralogical and geological collections of Mrs. Frederic Allen, of Gardiner ; 
the Shattuck conchological collection; the Cushman ornithological col- 
lection, and the Fish collection of Lepidoptera. A projection on the 
east side provides a spacious entrance and staircase. On ascending, 
the visitor may read two interesting autographs, the last letter Profes- 
sor Cleaveland wrote and the following tribute to his memory from 
his old-time student, the poet Longfellow : 

Among the many lives that I have known, 

None I remember more serene and sweet, 

More rounded in itself and more complete, 
Than his who lies beneath this funeral stone. 
These pines that murmur in low monotone, 

These walks frequented by scholastic feet, 

Were all his world; but in this calm retreat 
For him the teacher's chair became a throne. 
With fond affection memory loves to dwell 

On the old days when his example made 
A pastime of the toil of tongue and pen; 
And now, amid the groves he loved so well 

That naught could lure him from their grateful shade, 
He sleeps, but wakes elsewhere, for God hath said, Amen! 

At the close of the first chapel service which was held in this build- 
ing George Thorndike, the youngest of the little group of students, 
half carelessly, half purposely, planted an acorn by the doorway. 
The next year, somewhat to his surprise, he found it had grown into 
a tiny shrub, which he transplanted to the president's garden. Here 
it has slowly but steadily grown, and for many years successive classes 
have held their farewell exercises beneath its boughs. To many it 
stands not only as a memorial of the youth who was the first to die 
of a long line of graduates, but as an emblem of the progress of the 
institution which has often suffered from the lack of material resources, 
just as the tree has felt the natural poverty of the soil that sustains 
it. It also serves to mark the position of the two wooden buildings 
which were erected during President McKeen's administration, but 
were long since destroyed. The dwelling house built for him and 
also occupied by his two successors stood between the tree and the 
present highway. The old chapel faced the west and was a few rods 
to the southeast of the Thorndike oak. It was at first intended to be 
a merely temporary structure, and though afterwards enlarged and 
provided with a belfry, was never supplied with adequate provision 
for heating. The second story was the home of the library till the 
completion of King Chapel. The insufficient accommodation it 
afforded cramped if it did not check the growth of the collection. 

If we may trust tradition, the first commencement of the infant 
institution, which occurred in September of 1806, was one of the not- 
able occasions in the social life of the district of Maine. The college 



54 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

boards, which included those most prominent in the professions and 
in official station, were well represented as a matter of course. Vis- 
itors who came from as far as Boston and vicinity in their private 
carriages gave to the little village, with its sandy roads, an appear- 
ance of wealth and importance that it had never known before. At 
the close of the exercises diplomas were conferred on the seven young 
men who had completed the course, and also the ad eundem degree of 
A. B. or of A. M. on 14 recent graduates of Harvard, Yale, and Dart- 
mouth, who had expressed the desire to become connected with the 
new institution. This first was also the last commencement at which 
President McKeen presided. A painful and lingering disease which 
kept him from his college duties for several months terminated his 
life July 15, 1807. His brief administration had been remarkably 
successful considering the difficulties under which he labored. Among 
the 44 students then enrolled, in whose education he had taken part, 
were Nathan Lord, for thirty-five years president of Dartmouth Col- 
lege; Charles Stewart Daveis, prominent within his native Stat© as an 
orator and lawyer, and two members of the legal profession who rep- 
resented the Commonwealth in the National Congress. 

PRESIDENT APPLETON'S ADMINISTRATION. 

To fill the vacancy caused by President McKeen's death the trus- 
tees chose one of their own number, Hon. Isaac Parker, afterwards 
chief justice of Massachusetts, and for a number of years professor of 
law in Harvard University. Judge Parker had been actively inter- 
ested in the affairs of the college, was a scholarly man and well quali- 
fied for the position, but his election was negatived by the lower board. 
The trustees then selected Rev. Eliphalet Nott, who had but just begun 
his long and famous administration of Union College. He, too, was 
rejected by the overseers. The third choice was the Rev. Jesse Apple- 
ton, D. D., then pastor at Hampton, N. H., and this was approved by 
the other board. 

President Appleton was a native of New Ipswich, N. H. , graduated 
at Dartmouth in 1792, and studied theology with Rev. Dr. Lathrop, 
of West Springfield, Mass. While yet a young man he had won a 
reputation for ability and scholarship and had been a prominent can- 
didate for the Hollis professorship at Harvard. Of the esteem in which 
his parishioners held him evidence is given in the curious claim they 
made upon the college to be pecuniarily reimbursed for the loss of 
their pastor. Though not a controversialist, President Appleton was 
a leader on the evangelical side in the strife that was then beginning 
to separate the Congregational churches of New England. He brought 
to the president's chair a sense of personal responsibility for the moral, 
religious, and intellectual welfare of the young men connected with 
the institution which many would characterize as morbid, and which 
certainly led to excessive labor and anxiety. 



BOWDOIN COLLEGE. 55 

In his inaugural address, after a tribute to the literary value of the 
Bible, he asks "whether some very general system containing the out- 
lines of Christian theology might not with advantage be considered as 
a necessary part of collegiate studies, and whether his education should 
not be regarded as deficient who has no particular knowledge of the 
facts and doctrines described in the sacred volume." a 

In furtherance of this belief he conducted regularly a Sabbath even_ 
ing exercise in Bible study in the chapel, in which all the students 
participated and for which he himself made especial preparation. 
Still more was this true of the theological lectures delivered on Thurs- 
day afternoons. They were composed with great care and form the 
major portion of his works which were published posthumously in 
two octavo volumes. So earnest was he, not only in these public min- 
istrations but also in his daily recitations and private conversation, 
that it was said by one of his pupils that no one could "go through 
Bowdoin College without receiving serious impressions." 

A.large portion of President Appleton's inaugural was devoted to 
the subject of college discipline. He held the view then prevalent 
that the college authorities should guard with parental care, that the 
students should render strict obedience, and that every transgression 
should receive a just recompense of reward. The specified punish- 
ment must be inflicted not solely to maintain due subordination and 
respect for lawful authority but as a part of a fair and honorable con- 
tract between two parties. This theory was executed with a conscien- 
tiousness and an impartiality that won respect, but it caused an 
amount of labor and of friction at which modern faculties would stand 
aghast. For playing cards, for staying away from one's room at 
night, for failing to observe study hours, for walking or driving unnec- 
essarily on the Sabbath, and for numberless similar offenses, definite 
penalties were fixed and imposed. Unfortunately delinquencies of 
this character, while they occupy page after page of the record of the 
executive government, were not the only ones to be punished. The 
habits of society at that time, and the fact that the students for the 
first twenty years of the college's existence were mostly from the 
wealthier class in the community, made intemperance a formidable 
foe to college order and morality. The temptations to drink to excess, 
if opportunity be considered a part of temptation, were surely far 
greater than at the present day ; while the personal oversight con- 
scientiously exercised by college officers living in the buildings made 
every shortcoming known to the president and faculty. No effort 
seems to have been left untried to prevent drunkenness. Exhorta- 
tion and punishment were faithfully applied. The failures of men 
well disposed and generally correct were not overlooked. On one 
occasion a young man, who afterwards became a faithful and honored 
pastor, was publicly admonished for having been overcome with 

« Works, volume 2, page 392. 



56 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

liquor. There is no reason to believe that the evils of intemperance 
and licentiousness were more prevalent at Bowdoin than at other col- 
leges at this period, "but it has seemed proper to mention the earnest 
and open measures taken to check them. On the failure of the public 
admonition, the student was suspended. Of sixteen cases of suspen- 
sion during this administration, six resulted in permanent separation. 
There were also two instances of dismissal or removal by the parent 
at the request of the faculty. 

A new dormitory, 100 feet in length by 40 in width, built of brick, 
and four stories in height, was ready for occupancy in 1808 and fur- 
nished accommodation for the increasing number of students. With 
a view to economy in cost of living college commons were maintained 
in a tavern that stood in the northwestern corner of the present cam- 
pus. The fare — plain, substantial, and inexpensive — was a subject 
of complaint from a few members in each class who had themselves 
excused from the obligation to board there by a physician's certificate 
that their health demanded that their appetite be tempted rather than 
satisfied. After a trial of five years the experiment was discontinued 
in 1815. It was undertaken again at the close of the following 
decade under more favorable circumstances, Commons Hall having 
been erected for the purpose, and though continued for a longer 
period was hardly a success. 

As in the previous administration, the president took a large share 
in the work of instruction. The duties of the department of intellec- 
tual and moral philosophy and of rhetoric and oratory devolved for 
the most part upon him. The text-books employed were Butler's 
Analogy of Religion, Paley's Evidences of Christianity, Locke on the 
Human Understanding, Stewart's Elements of Intellectual Philosophy, 
and Blair's Rhetoric. After the resignation by Professor Abbott of 
the chair of ancient languages in 1816 he occasionally conducted the 
work in the classics, his fondness for Livy being so marked as to lead 
the students to maintain that if ever called on to save three volumes 
from a burning library he would be found with Paley in one pocket, 
Livy in the other, and a Bible in his arms. 

The teaching force was increased in 1812 by the appointment of 
Rev. William Jenks, D. D., then pastor of a church in Bath, to the 
chair of English Literature and Hebrew. It was hoped that the 
finances of the college would allow it after a few years to require all 
the time of the new professor, who continued to hold his pastorate 
and at the same time gave instruction in Hebrew and had charge of 
the work in English composition. This expectation was not realized. 
Four years later his resignation was accepted. Instruction in 
Hebrew, however, continued to be given until 1866. It was alwaj's 
an optional study and only pursued by a few. Instruction in English 
literature, as distinct from rhetoric and composition, did not again 
hold a place in the curriculum until 1855. 



BOWDOIN COLLEGE. 57 

President Appleton was only 47 years of age at his death in 1819. 
In a certain sense the pressure of his college duties, together with his 
unremitted application to study, hastened his decease. His keen 
sense of personal responsibility necessarily laid on him a heavy load 
of anxiety. His natural tastes and his intellectual ambition led him 
to attempt and to accomplish what at the present day would be impos- 
sible — the mastery of all the subjects taught in the college curricu- 
lum. His efforts for the upbuilding of the college, though hampered 
by the lack of financial means, were successful. The institution, 
with its little corps of 5 teachers and 50 pupils, won a reputation for 
"good morals and sound scholarship." Among the 130 graduates 
who enjoyed his instruction were 2 presidents of colleges, 5 judges 
of the higher State ^courts, 1 governor, and 5 Congressmen. Of the 
three or four who gave themselves chiefly to literary work, at least 
one, Jacob Abbott, has exerted a widespread influence by his writings. 

The separation of Maine from the mother State brought anxiety to 
many friends of the college. A few years before the private affairs 
of- the college treasurer had become hopelessly involved, and a tem- 
porary attachment was placed upon the property of his brother-in-law 
and surety, Gen. William King, for the purpose of securing the col- 
lege against possible loss. The agent in this matter was a prominent 
Federalist, and a political o'pponent of the future governor. The 
latter's indignation was great and unfortunately fell in part on the 
college, which he regarded as a Federalist institution. His influence 
was exerted in obtaining a charter for Waterville College, now Colby 
College, and in inserting in the constitution of the new State a 
provision that no literary institution should receive aid unless the 
legislature was able "to alter, limit, or restrain any of the powers 
vested in any such literary institution." To protect the college from 
this dreaded antagonism of the dominant political party, clauses were 
inserted in the act of separation providing that Maine should assume 
the payment of the annual grant of $3,000 until its expiration four 
years later, and that the president, trustees, and overseers should con- 
tinue to enjoy their powers and privileges in all respects. In the 
midst of the doubts and misgivings the prospective withdrawal of 
State aid aroused, there is something heroic as well as trustful in the 
oft-quoted words the dying president- uttered as he looked out from 
his chamber window toward the college halls, "God has n taken care of 
the college and God will take care of it." 

PRESIDENT ALLEN'S ADMINISTRATION. 

In December, 1819, Rev. William Allen was unanimously chosen 
president. He had many marked qualifications for this position. A 
graduate of Harvard in 1802, he was connected with it for some time 
subsequent, had then studied theology and succeeded his father in 
the pastorate of the church at Pittsfield, Mass., and recently had been 



58 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

at the head of the short-lived Dartmouth University. His biograph- 
ical dictionary had early given him a place among literary workers, 
his family connections, his collegiate experience, his reputation for 
learning, and last, though perhaps not least, his political views, which 
were in sympathy with the party dominant in the State, made him an 
acceptable candidate. In his inaugural President Allen set forth the 
advantages flowing from the cultivation of the arts and sciences and 
the importance to a free State of collegiate institutions. While in 
striking accord with his predecessors he maintains that knowledge 
without virtue is valueless, he dwells upon the service which the 
college affords the State and society. That his views on this subject 
were not merely theoretical was soon apparent. Before his inaugura- 
tion he had corresponded with Dr. Nathan Smith, then professor of 
the theory and practice of physic and surgery at Yale, and the founder 
of Dartmouth Medical School, with regard to the improvement of the 
medical instruction in the new State. The latter wrote in reply, "I 
think, after what experience I have had, we could form a medical 
school that would in point of real utility equal any in the country." 
With this in view President Allen earnestly favored the placing of 
the college under the control of the legislature that, in conformity 
with the provisions of the constitution, it might make such grants 
and endowments as would conduce to the public good. Accordingly 
in May, 1820, the boards voted that the " right to enlarge, alter, limit, 
or restrain the powers given by the college charter may be vested in 
the State of Maine." In June the first legislature of Maine "estab- 
lished, under the control, superintendence, and direction of the presi- 
dent, trustees, and overseers of Bowdoin College, a medical school for 
the instruction of students in medicine, anatomy, surgery, chemistry, 
mineralogy, and botany." 

It granted $1,500 for procuring the necessary books, plates, prepar- 
ations, and apparatus, and the annual further payment of $1,000 till 
the legislature should otherwise order. The subsequent history of 
this medical school, for which the State and the college owe a great 
debt to President Allen, is given elsewhere. The success which it 
met with from the start may be briefly referred to here. The first 
course was attended by 22 persons, the second by 49, and the aver- 
age of succeeding ones in this administration by upward of 90. Its 
first professgr of the theory and practice of medicine was naturally 
Dr. Nathan Smith, to whose reputation, skill, and experience much 
was due. The first prof essor of surgery and anatomy was Dr. John D. 
Wells, a graduate of Harvard, whose brilliant natural abilities had 
been increased by two years of study and observation abroad.- The 
chemistry was for nearly forty years in the hands of Professor Clea\ e- 
land, who also served as secretary of the school. As the result of the 
legislative grant and of wise purchases, its library and apparatus for 
medical instruction was in 1830 the best in New England, and unsur- 
passed in the country. 



BOWDOIN COLLEGE. 59 

The college proper seemed, under President Allen and the prospec- 
tive patronage of the new State, to make a decided advance. The 
grant derived from the tax on banks was continued until their char- 
ters should expire. Students presented themselves in larger numbers 
than before, though both the requirements for admission and the 
charges for tuition and room rent were increased. The entrance re- 
quirements now included Sallust, Walsh's Arithmetic, and the Col- 
lectanea Grceca Minora. The tuition was $24 and the room rent $10. 

The commencement of 1821, attended b}^ the governor with a 
mounted escort of cavalry and accompanied by large numbers of the 
prominent and influential men of the State, revived memories of the 
famous first commencement, when popular favor seemed lavished on 
the institution. With its grant of money the State also assumed a 
share in the direction of affairs. By its act of March, 1821, it nearly 
doubled the number of trustees, largely increased the board of over- 
seers, and gave the governor the right to appoint new members. The 
governor's appointments were men of the highest social and intellec- 
tual standing. On political questions their views and his were alike. 

The destruction by fire of the interior of Maine Hall in March, 1822, 
was converted from a calamity to a source of advantage to the college 
by the liberality of the contributions to replace the loss. These were 
solicited from prominent individuals, and collections were taken in 
many of the Congregational churches. Among the donors from with- 
out the State were President Monroe, John Q. Adams, and John C. 
Calhoun. As a result, nearly $10,000 was raised, while the restoration 
of the building cost but $6,500. The increase in the number of stu- 
dents made another dormitory necessary. A large, four-story brick 
building, of similar size and arrangement with Maine Hall, was erected 
at the cost of $9,600. After having been known for several years as 
"New College," and subsequently as " North College," it received, in 
1848, in honor of the Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the 
name it now bears, " Winthrop Hall." 

Of far greater importance than new buildings were the accessions 
to the number of professors that signalized President Allen's admin- 
istration. The first was Samuel Phillips Newman, who had graduated 
with honor at Harvard in 1816, and had since been engaged in teach- 
ing and in theological studies under President Appleton. He had 
served as tutor for two years prior to his inauguration in 1820 as pro- 
fessor of the ancient languages. It was, however, in the professorship 
of rhetoric and oratory, established in 1824, to which he was trans- 
ferred, that his most valued services were rendered. His treatise on 
rhetoric, published soon after, was an original work and an admirable 
text-book, as was shown by the number of schools and colleges in 
which it was adopted and the sixty editions through which it passed. 
His department was made to include the rising science of political 
economy, and the substance of his lectures on that subject was issued 



60 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

in L835 as an elementary treatise. His influence was felt as a man 
even more than as a teacher. Possessed of much business ability; 
faithful, prompt, and firm in the discharge of duty, his services were 
invaluable to the institution, especialty during the two years of Pres- 
ident Allen's absence, when he was practically president. Of him a 
former pupil writes: 

His genial, unaffected manners, his genuine sincerity and faithful discharge of 
duty secured the respect and confidence and affection of the students, while his 
catholic sentiments and Christian charity endeared him alike to orthodox and 
heterodox. 

His regretted resignation in 1839 was followed, hardly two years 
later, by his death at the age of 45. 

Alpheus Spring Packard, a graduate of 1816, who had given the 
three intervening years to teaching, was appointed tutor in 1819 and 
professor of languages and classical literature in 1824. For forty-one 
years Professor Packard conducted the work in Latin and Greek, for 
much of the time without the assistance of a tutor, while for three of 
these years (1842-1845) the department of rhetoric and oratory was 
also under his charge. In 1865 he was transferred to the Collins pro- 
fessorship of natural and revealed religion, which he held till his death. 
He also discharged for the greater part-of this latter period the duties 
of college librarian. Upon President Chamberlain's resignation in 

1883, he was appointed acting president. His sudden decease, July 13, 

1884, took away the last member of the "old faculty," whose virtues 
and abilities Bowdoin graduates never tire of extolling. His was in 
a marked degree the — 

' ' Honor and reverence and the good repute 
That follows faithful service as its fruit." 

In uttering these words, the poet spoke not only for his college class 
but in behalf of nearly 2,000 fellow-graduates. 

To Professor Packard belongs the credit of being among the first to 
break away from the traditional mode of teaching the classics which 
prevailed in some New England colleges as late as 1830. This con- 
sisted entirely of construing, i. e. , pronouncing each word and giving its 
meaning, with questions on the syntax. The student was not allowed, 
much less encouraged, to translate a sentence or a paragraph into the 
vernacular. Little was done by the instructor in the way of inter- 
pretation and nothing in the way of discussion of the thought or style 
of the author. In his inaugural address on the method in which the 
classics should be taught, Professor Packard said: "Like faithful 
guides we are to show the pupil the most direct path to knowledge 
and become companions of his way, pointing out to him as he 
advance's whatever may animate and allure, and leading him to the 
most favorable points whence he may view all that is grand and beau- 

«Hon. Peter Thacher, of Boston, Mass. 



BOWDOIN COLLEGE. 61 

tiful." This simple yet comprehensive ideal he faithfully strove to 
carry out. His habit was not to dwell upon minute philological 
and grammatical details, but to unfold and illustrate the thought of 
the author. His recitations were also enlivened or enriched by occa- 
sional lectures carefully prepared to stimulate the students' apprecia- 
tion of the literary style of the author read and the historical 
relations of the text. He felt keenly the importance of a correct yet 
free translation of the original paragraph, a method to which William 
Pitt, as he was wont to remind his pupils, owed much of his remark- 
able fluency and facility in debate. 

His interest in educational matters led to several essays and 
addresses published in the North American Review and in the col- 
lections of the American Institute of Instruction. He edited for the 
Harpers in 1839 Xenophon's Memorabilia of Socrates, which passed 
through three editions. After assuming the Collins professorship in 
1865, he conducted the recitations in Paley's Evidences and Butler's 
Analogy as long as these were a part of the college curriculum. The 
duty connected with this chair, which he continued to perform to the 
very last with remarkable felicity, was the conduct of the chapel serv- 
ices. The memory of his venerable and stately form and of his 
kindly voice leading in prayer will linger long in the hearts of many 
of this generation. 

In the annual catalogue of 1825 appears for the first time the name 
of Thomas Cogswell Upham, professor of metaphysics and moral 
philosophy and lecturer on biblical literature. Mr. Upham graduated 
at Dartmouth in 1818, pursued a theological course at Andover, and 
at its close was chosen Professor Stuart's assistant in Hebrew. On 
the establishment of the new chair at Bowdoin, the reputation he had 
already Avon as a scholar, in part by his translation and abridgment 
of Jahn's Archaeology, led to his being called from a brief pastorate 
in Rochester, N. H. He entered upon his new field of labor at an 
important period. Locke and Reid had hitherto reigned supreme, 
but now the philosophical discourses of Coleridge were being read, 
Cousin's teaching in France was awakening popular interest, and 
above all the influence of Kant was being more and more widely felt 
in America. He was expected to oppose the tide of German meta- 
physics, which his denomination regarded as likely to unsettle and 
lead astray. The young professor accepted in the main the Scottish 
philosophy. The views of this school he incorporated in 1827 in a 
volume styled a " Compilation on Intellectual Philosophy." This in 
1831 he elaborated . into a more original and systematic work in two 
volumes. It met with a favorable reception in both this country and 
England. In a German review, written by Professor Beneke, it 
received approval as an example of the treatment of the subject from 
the practical standpoint of an American. It passed through several 
editions, and was widely used as a college text-book. One of his 



02 EDUCATION IN MxVINE. 

pupils, Rev. Dr. Cyrus Hamlin, translated it into Armenian, and 
employed it at Robert College, Constantinople. Of this treatise, the 
late Prof. Henry B. Smith wrote in 1837: 

We know of no work on mental philosophy which has so ranch completeness 
and inolusiveness. It is eminently practical without being commonplace, and is 
cast in a form well fitted for purposes of instruction. To deeper and more funda- 
mental investigations it is a safe and sufficient introduction, and by its imparti- 
ality will guard against that exclusiveness of spirit which may make a partisan 
but never made a philosopher. a 

Three years later he published his "Treatise on the Will," which 
must be regarded as his most original work, and formed the third vol- 
ume of subsequent editions of the "Mental Philosophy. " 

Able and successful as Professor Upham w T as as an instructor, he 
undoubtedly contributed more to the reputation and influence of the 
college by his writings than by his recitations. In addition to the 
philosophical writings just mentioned, his religious and miscella- 
neous contributions to literature had a wide circulation. On the sub- 
ject of the higher Christian life there appeared in 1844, Principles of 
the Interior Life, and this was followed in subsequent years by Reli- 
gious Maxims, The Life of Faith, Treatise on Divine Union, Life and 
Religious Opinions of Madame Guyon. An early and earnest advo- 
cate of peace, his Essay on a Congress of Nations and his Manual of 
Peace were stereotyped and circulated by the American Peace Society. 
In 1852 he visited Europe and the Holy Land, and the resulting series 
of letters, reprinted in book form for a circle of friends met with such 
favor that the work passed through two editions. A volume of minor 
poems, collected under the title American Cottage Life, was a favorite 
gift book a generation ago, and several of the pieces it contained are 
never omitted from any extended religious anthology. 

Of a sensitive nature and a remarkably retiring disposition, he at 
the same time possessed a knowledge of human nature and a per- 
sistency that enabled him to secure for the college by personal solici- 
tation over $70,000, largely from a denomination that had distrusted 
its management. Failing health led him to retire from the duties of 
his professorship in 1867. His active miiid, however, continued its 
work, his last book, Absolute Religion, appearing after his death. 
This occurred in New York City April 2, 1872. With him the college 
lost a man who was "prolific in plans, exhaustless in expedients, in 
effort unwearied, as versatile and many sided as Ulysses," and who 
united in his person the characteristics of a poet and a philosopher, a 
philanthropist and a mystic. 

After Professor Cleaveland came to devote himself to the natural 
sciences, the instruction in mathematics fell largely to the tutors and 
consisted mainly in the pupils studying the prescribed lesson in the 
text-book, Webber's Mathematics, and subsequently repeating it. 

« Literary and Theological Review, volume 4, page 628. 



BOWDOIN COLLEGE. 63 

Occasionally a practical exercise in surveying was given. In geome- 
try each student had a manuscript in which he drew the figures and 
which he used in demonstrating. In algebra problems were worked 
out on a slate and the result explained at the teacher's side. In a 
crowded recitation room it sometimes happened that correct answers 
followed incorrect processes. " How did you get that result? " a tutor 
once asked a Bowdoin sophomore, who afterwards became President 
of the United States, " From Stowe's slate," was the frank reply. In 
1824 Tutor William Smyth, a graduate of two years' standing and 
fresh from a year of theological study at Andover, introduced with 
his sophomores in algebra the use of the blackboard. This novel 
experiment, as it then seemed, was a great success. The enthusiasm 
the young teacher awakened is indicated by the fact that a class which 
had completed the subject petitioned for a review of it under the new 
method. The following year Mr. Smyth, abandoning his first love, 
Greek, in which he had won some distinction, accepted the professor- 
ship of mathematics and began his long occupancy of that chair, termi- 
nated only by his death in 1868. With characteristic zeal and 
earnestness he gave himself to the mastery of the science. His active 
mind and unusual power of concentration enabled him to read Laplace's 
Mecanique Celeste at the close of days of vexatious drudgery. His 
manuscripts with carefully elaborated formulas show that he not only 
read but mastered. 

Under circumstances that would have deterred one of less indomi- 
table will, he prepared his well-known series of mathematical text- 
books. His first essay was a small work on plane trigonometry, for 
which a local engraver prepared the blocks for striking off the dia- 
grams. His algebra appeared in 1830. It received warm considera- 
tion from Dr. Bowditch and was adopted as a text-book at Harvard 
and at other institutions. After passing through several editions it 
gave place to two separate works, an elementary algebra and a college 
text-book. In 1834 the Elements of Algebra were made one of the 
requirements for admission. Two years later he published an 
enlarged edition of his trigonometry, with the applications of the 
science to surveying and navigation. His treatise on analytic geome- 
try was issued in the same year, and in 1854 his Elements of the Differ- 
ential and Integral Calculus. The last-mentioned work evinced no 
little originality. It received emphatic approval in high quarters, 
especially from the late Professor Bache. In addition to his mathe- 
matical instruction, Professor Smyth gave lectures on natural philoso- 
phy, and, toward the close of his professorship, on astronomy. 

With all his college work he found time to labor earnestly for pub- 
lic interests and in social reforms. The public schools of the town 
were graded and suitable buildings erected for them largely through 
his exertions, while the church and parish found him a faithful and 
never-tiring laborer. He early joined the antislavery movement, met 



64 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

hardship and even outrage in the advocacy of his views, and his home 
was for several years one of the stations on the ' ' underground railway." 

The professorship of modern languages was the last of the four 
new chairs established under President Allen. Instruction in French 
had been given as early as 1820 by a native, who was not awarded a 
place upon the faculty, though on one occasion, at least, the college 
treasurer assumed the payment of his fees. In September, 1825, the 
boards voted ' ' that a professorship be established for the instruction 
of the junior and senior classes in the modern languages of Europe, 
particularly in French and Spanish, and that until a professor be 
elected the executive government make the best provision in their 
power at an expense not exceeding $500." In connection with this 
vote is recorded the donation of $1,000 from Mrs. Sarah (Bowdoin) 
Dearborn toward the endowment of the chair. The temporary pro- 
vision was made by engaging Joseph Hale Abbot, of the class of 1822, 
who had pursued post-graduate studies at Cambridge, and was subse- 
quently a successful teacher in Boston and recording secretary of the 
American Academy of Arts and Sciences. 

The professor was informally selected at the same time in the per- 
son of a talented young man of the graduating class, whose literary 
ability was well known and, according to tradition, had recently 
forced itself upon the attention of a prominent trustee by the fine 
rendering of an ode of Horace. It was arranged that Henry W. 
Longfellow, after three or four years of study abroad — he was then 
a youth of 18 — should fill the chair now known as the "Longfellow 
professorship." Upon this he entered in 1829. Of the character of 
his instruction, one who enjoyed it writes as follows: 

He had secured a large place for his department in the curriculum and he 
awakened great enthusiasm among the students. In studying French we used a 
grammar which he had himself prepared. In studying Italian we used a grammar 
in the French language, also prepared by the professor. His painstaking in pre- 
paring these grammars was one of the many indications of his enthusiasm in his 
teaching. But he did not confine himself to linguistic teaching. He aimed to 
open to us the literature of these languages, especially the French, and to arouse 
us to interest in them. In addition to the recitations already mentioned he gave 
a course of lectures on French literature. They were given in the chapel to all 
the students who chose to attend. I remember these lectures as highly elaborated 
and in their style highly finished and polished. Under his teaching we were able 
to gain a knowledge of these languages which it was easy to retain and complete 
after graduation so as to use them through life in the study of their respective 
literatures. But he did not attempt to teach us to converse in them. His literary 
attainments, spirit, and enthusiasm did not fail to exert an inspiring and refining 
influence on those thus associated with him through four years. 

Of Mr. Longfellow's own view of his work, the following extracts 
from his inaugural address, delivered August 17, 1830, but never, the 
writer believes, printed, give an interesting glimpse : 

When a man's duty and his inclination go hand in hand surely he has no small 
reason to rejoice, no feeble stimulus to act. The truth of this I feel. I regard 



BOWDOIN COLLEGE. 65 

the profession of a teacher in a far more noble and elevated point of view than 
many do. I can not help believing that he who bends in a right direction the 
pliant disposition of the young, and trains up the ductile mind to a vigorous and 
healthy growth, does something for the welfare of his country and something for 
the great interests of humanity. * * * I can not regard the study of a lan- 
guage as the pastime of a listless hour. To trace the progress of the human mind 
through the progressive development of language, to learn how other nations 
thought, and felt, and spake, to enrich the understanding by opening upon it new 
sources of knowledge * * * these are objects worthy the exertion their attain- 
ment demands at our hands. The mere acquisition of a language, then, is not the 
ultimate object; it is a means to be employed in the acquisition of something 
which lies beyond. I should therefore deem my duty but half performed were I 
to limit my exertions to the narrow bounds of grammatical rules; nay. that I had 
done little for the intellectual culture of a pupil when I had merely put an instru- 
ment into his hands without explaining to him its most important uses. It is 
little to point one to the portals of the magic gardens and the enchanted halls of 
learning, and to teach him certain cabalistic words at whose utterance the golden 
hinges of its gates shall turn; he must be led through the glittering halls and fra- 
grant bowers and shown where the richest treasures lie and where the clearest 
fountains spring. And it will be my aim not only to teach the turns and idioms 
of a language, but according to my ability, and as soon as time and circumstances 
shall permit, to direct the student in his researches into the literature of those 
nations whose languages he is studying. 

It is believed that, under Professor Longfellow, Bowdoin was the 
first New England college to give that prominence to modern lan- 
guages as a part of the required course which has since become so 
general. The appointment of Professor Ticknor at Harvard ante- 
dates his "by some dozen years, but the duties assigned to the former 
in the work of instruction were far less. At this period at Yale, 
teachers in French and Spanish were recommended by the faculty, 
but the students paid extra fees for such instruction; the study of 
modern languages was not required for a degree. After his resigna- 
tion in 1835 to accept the similar chair at Harvard the character and 
traditions of the professorship were worthily maintained for nearly 
twenty years by Daniel Raynes Goodwin, afterwards provost of the 
University of Pennsylvania, who, like Mr. Longfellow, had prepared 
himself for his duties by residence and study abroad. 

The academic faculty which President Allen gathered around him, 
with the two exceptions already noted, continued to be the teaching 
force for two score years. The services of these five men, Cleaveland, 
Newman, Sm3 7 th, Packard, and Upham, continuing on an average 
upward of forty- five years, together with their marked personality, 
gave a peculiar individuality to the institution for the first half of its 
existence. They were during this time young men and they worked 
hard. Their labors seem to have kindled a personal love for the 
institution, and instead of seeking or accepting positions elsewhere 
they were anxious to increase its facilities and advantages even at the 
cost of personal sacrifice. The way in which six men did the work 
that now occupies twelve college instructors may be seen by an exam- 
10324— No. 3—03 5 



66 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

illation of the annual reports made to the visiting committee of the 
boards. These reports for 1833 are as far as possible put in tabular 
form, the recommendations or explanations of each professor being 
placed below. It should be noted that Professor Newman had charge 
of the chapel services in the absence of President Allen, and that 
Professor Longfellow was college librarian, a position requiring his 
attendance at the library from 12 to 1 each day. Both he and Pro- 
fessor Packard gave occasional lectures on classical literature and the 
literature of the Middle Ages, not mentioned in their reports, for 
which probably some regular recitation was omitted. The average 
length of the three terms was a trifle over twelve weeks. 

DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY. 
[Parker Clbaveland.] 

First term. — Seniors: 74 recitations astronomy and spherical trigonometry, 
including nautical astronomy, with exercises on globes, tellurion, and other 
apparatus. 

Second term. — Seniors: 74 recitations chemistry. Seniors, juniors, and medical 
class: 62 lectures chemistry. 

Third term. — Seniors: 49 recitations natural history, 41 lectures mineralogy and 
geology, 33 lectures natural philosophy. 

As all of my lectures and a large proportion of my recitations are accompanied 
by the use of apparatus or specimens or by experiments, much time is necessarily 
spent in preparatory labor, and all the lectures require no small degree of subse- 
quent labor in taking care of apparatus and materials used in experiments. The 
time actually spent in the lecture and recitation rooms directly connected with 
the business of instruction during each year averages five hours for every day of 
term time. This is exclusive of all time spent in study and writing lectures. My 
duties as secretary and librarian of the medical school employ much additional 
time not included in the above. The only suggestion I have to make at this time, 
inref erence to my department, is an additional course of lectures upon the appli- 
cation of chemistry and natural philosophy to the useful arts. This I am ready 
to give whenever time can be found and the necessary models obtained by the 
college. 

DEPARTMENT OP RHETORIC, ORATORY, AND POLITICAL ECONOMY. 

[Samuel P. Newman,] 

First term. — Seniors: 120 *themes, of which 80 are corrected and returned. 
Juniors: 300 themes, of which 250 are corrected and returned. Sophomores: 330 
translations, all corrected and returned. Private declamations every Friday in 
two divisions. College public declamations every Wednesday afternoon. 

Second term. — Seniors, juniors, and sophomores: Themes and declamations the 
same as first term; also seniors, 74 recitations political economy. 

Third term. — Juniors and sophomores: Themes and declamations as first term. 
Sophomores: 36 recitations rhetoric. Freshmen: 72 exercises elocution. 

The increased number in our classes has made the duties in the department of 
rhetoric so arduous that I find it difficult to attend to the exercises of the seniors 
in political economy during the second term. We need very much some means 
of warming the chapel during the winter, that declamations may be attended with 
comfort and safety. 



BOWDOIN COLLEGE. 67 

DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL AND MORAL PHILOSOPHY. 
[Thomas C. Upham.] 

First term. — Seniors: 62 recitations Stewart's Philosophy, 48 recitations Vattel's 
Law of Nations. Forensics. Freshmen (with Professor Longfellow) : 72 recita- 
tations Liyy. 

Second term. — Seniors: Hebrew division, 48 recitations. Forensics. Juniors: 
62 recitations Upham 's Mental Philosophy. Freshmen: 72 recitations Livy and 
Adams's Roman Antiquities. 

Third term. — Seniors: 20 recitations Butler's Analogy. Hebrew division, 40 
recitations. Juniors: 30 recitations Upham 's Mental Philosophy, 30 recitations 
Rawle's Constitution of United States. Freshmen: 36 recitations Latin, 36 reci- 
tations Hedge's Logic. 

DEPARTMENT OP ANCIENT LANGUAGES. 
[Alpheus S. Packard.] 

First term. — Juniors: 48 recitations Juvenal. Greek division, 60 recitations 
Homer. Sophomores: 72 recitations Greek and Latin. Freshmen: 72 recitations 
Greek historians (frequently in two divisions). 

Second term. — Seniors (Latin division): 48 recitations Virgil. Juniors: 60 reci- 
tations Homer. Sophomores: 72 recitations Greek and Latin. Freshmen: 72 
recitations Greek. 

Third term. — Juniors: 24 recitations Greek. Sophomores: 36 recitations Greek 
and Latin. Freshmen: 72 recitations Greek. Elective class: 18 recitations Latin. 

It should be stated as a circumstance particularly worthy of notice that when 
our classes exceed 25 in number it is difficult to do them justice in a recitation. 
It would therefore be very desirable that the number of instructors in the depart- 
ment should be such that the classes could always be heard in divisions. One 
recitation each day of the freshman class in Latin has always been heard by Pro- 
fessor Upham. This should be added as belonging to my department. 

DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS. 
[William Smyth.] 

First term.— Juniors: 72 recitations mechanics. Sophomores: 72 recitations 
plane trigonometry. Freshmen: 60 recitations algebra. 

Second term. — Juniors: 72 recitations electricity, magnetism, and optics. Sopho- 
mores: 72 recitations surveying and navigation. Freshmen: 60 recitations algebra. 

Third term. — Juniors: 72 recitations calculus. Sophomores: 72 recitations pro- 
jections and leveling. Freshmen: 60 recitations geometry. 

The sophomores and freshmen are heard for a part of the year in two divisions 
each, making on the whole an average of four recitations a day for the year. In 
the spring and summer terms a portion of the time is devoted to practical opera- 
tions in surveying, leveling, etc., in the field. On the present system of instruc- 
tion not more than 20 students can be heard with advantage at a recitation. 
Should the number of students increase so as to amount to 40 in a class, in order to 
maintain our present standard some assistance in my department will be absolutely 
necessary. My time thus far has been very much occupied with the mere details 
of recitations. I am desirous of assistance in order that I may have leisure to com- 
plete a course of text-books in the department of mathematics, and to prepare a 
full course of lectures on mechanics and kindred branches of instruction com- 
mitted to my care. I shall commence the course the ensuing year with some lee- 



68 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

hires on the steam engine and its more important applications as a moving power, 
on which account I am very desirous that the engine to which the attention of the 
committee has been directed should be purchased for the college. (This engine 
was the work of a student of remarkable mechanical ability, who has since greatly 
distinguished himself in other fields. Rev. Cyrus Hamlin. D. D.) It would be an 
essential advantage to the progress of students in my department if a portion of 
algebra should be required for admission into college. I recommend that the first 
seven sections in the college text-book be added to the requirements. The portion 
recommended comprehends the operations of addition, subtraction, etc., and equa- 
tions of the. first degree. 

DEPARTMENT OF MODERN LANGUAGES. 
[Henry W. Longfellow.] 

First term. — Juniors: 66 recitations Spanish. Sophomores: 60 recitations 
French. 

Second term. — Seniors: 48 recitations German division, 48 recitations Italian 
division. Juniors: 66 recitations Spanish. Sophomores: 60 recitations French. 

TJiird term. — Seniors: 32 recitations German division, 32 recitations Italian 
division. Juniors: 66 recitations Spanish*. Sophomores: 60 recitations French. 

President Allen's administration, which opened with a distinct 
advance in the character of the institution and the number of its 
pupils, was clouded toward the end of its first decade by his personal 
unpopularity with a majority of the boards, and by what some con- 
sidered impolitic measures taken to secure his removal. His stately 
and reserved bearing concealed a warm and generous heart, but few 
realized this save the circle of his intimate friends. His manners 
were those of his own college days — when President Willard had but 
to show himself in the college yard and students and tutors alike kept 
their heads uncovered till he was out of sight. - With this outward 
coldness of demeanor was combined a firm and inflexible will, which 
never courted popularity and never won it. This fact coupled with 
political and denominational jealousies led to a singular piece of spe- 
cial legislation. In March, 1831, a law was enacted providing "that 
no person now holding the office of president in any college in this State 
shall hold said office beyond the day of the next commencement, 
unless he shall be reelected. No person shall be elected or reelected 
to the office of president unless he shall receive in each board two- 
thirds of all the votes given on the question of his election." It was 
not concealed by the advocates of this measure that their sole desire 
was to remove Dr. Allen from the position which he had been appointed 
to hold "during good behavior." At the next meeting of the trustees, 
of 17 votes cast for president, Dr. Allen had 7. It was manifestly 
impossible under the law to choose his successor, and overtures were 
made to him that he should be reelected and then resign. He refused 
to consider this proposition and prepared to bring the legality of the 
act of the legislature before the courts. He removed his family to 
Xewburyport, Mass., and as a resident of another State began an 
action in the United States circuit court against the college treasurer 



BOWDOIN COLLEGE. 69 

for his salary and fees. The case was argued before Judge Story in 
May, 1833, Hon. Simon Greenleaf appearing for the plaintiff, and 
Hon. Stephen Longfellow for the college treasurer. The decision of 
Judge Story not only reinstated Dr. Allen in his office, but restored 
the institution to the independent position secured it by the article 
in the act of separation under which Maine became a new State. The 
decision was largely influenced by the more famous Dartmouth Col- 
lege case of 1817; and it is a curious coincidence that the same prin- 
ciple of law that removed President Allen from the short-lived 
Dartmouth University should have a few years later restored him 
to his position at the head of another institution. 

As to its effect upon their membership the two boards viewed Judge 
Story's decision in different lights. The overseers resolved that an 
appointment under the act of 1821 gave no right to a seat in their body; 
that certain subsequent elections were invalid, and that only 40 persons 
were now lawfully members, and that there were 5 vacancies. The 
trustees, on the other hand, disregarded this portion of the decision 
as extrajudicial, and although it was tacitly understood that no 
new elections should be made, it was twelve years before by death 
and resignation their number was reduced to the 13 provided for in 
the charter, and over forty years before the last trustee appointed by 
Governor King ceased to meet with the board. 

President Allen returned to his college duties with much of the 
favor that accompanies a firm and successful defense of one's rights. 
The prejudice against him among influential members of the boards, 
however, continued as strong as ever. Unfortunately, too, within a 
few years his inflexibility and impassiveness made him unpopular 
among the student body to a degree that rendered his position 
unpleasant. In deference to the opinion of friends, who believed 
that this twofold antagonism was prejudicial to the interests of the 
college, he tendered his resignation in 1838, to take effect the follow- 
ing year. He retired to a life of literary activity at Northampton, 
Mass., where his declining years were spent in well-earned repose. 
His death occurred July 16, 1868. 

The clouds that obscured its close having passed away, it is now 
possible to see the progress the college made during his administra- 
tion. While the ridiculous system still prevailed at leading New 
England colleges of intrusting the entire work of a class to one tutor 
for one term, to another for the second, and so on, he adopted the 
departmental idea of instruction, and placed each department in the 
charge of an experienced teacher. To the popular demand for a 
practical education and for a curtailment of the time given the classics, 
a demand then at one of its periodic seasons of prominence, he made 
the best possible answer in the establishment of a medical school, in 
the addition of modern languages to the curriculum, and in improved 
methods of teaching Greek and Latin. During the preceding five 



70 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

years the average number of academic students had been 50; during 
his administration it was 130. The subsequent career of many in 
these 19 classes must have been a source of pride to the president who 
gave them their diplomas, for they gave to literature Hawthorne and 
Longfellow, besides lesser luminaries like the Abbotts and the 
Cheevers; to theology, Henry Boynton Smith and Samuel Harris; to 
medicine, Fordyce Barker; to law, John Appleton and Thomas 
Drummond; to political life, Franklin Pierce, William Pitt Fessen- 
den, John P. Hale, and Sergeant S. Prentiss. 

On February 17, 1836, Maine Hall was destroyed a second time by 
fire, a serious loss to the institution, following so soon the withdrawal 
of State aid. The land speculation of this period had enabled the 
college to dispose of its remaining townships at a good price, but the 
financial depression that followed seriously affected the productive- 
ness of its funds, which were largely invested in bank stocks. The 
financial outlook was dark when in 1838 the trustees elected Prof. 
Chauncey A. Goodrich, of Yale, as president. TJie prospect was not 
brightened when the overseers rejected this selection of one so promi- 
nent in educational circles, nor, in the following spring, when they 
also declined to ratify the choice of William G. Goddard, professor of 
mental and moral philosophy at Brown University. 

PRESIDENT WOODS'S ADMINISTRATION. 

The third selection of the trustees, which was promptly ratified by 
the overseers, was Leonard Woods, jr., professor of biblical literature 
in Bangor Theological Seminary. The son of an influential theolo- 
gian, a graduate in 1827 of Union College, where he attained the 
maximum mark in every study, and in 1830 of Andover Theological 
Seminary, where subsequently as a teacher he had held the interest 
of a class reciting in the same subject alternately to him and Prof. 
Edward Robinson; the translator and annotator of a German theo- 
logical work of over 1,200 pages, which was widely used as a text-book 
and reprinted in Great Britain ; the editor of a periodical noted alike 
for independence and ability; a preacher, the charm of whose ser- 
mons elicited from his most cultured listeners praise that seems 
almost extravagant; a conversationalist of rare natural powers, 
increased by a wide range of reading; this young man of 31 led all 
who knew him to anticipate a brilliant career both for him and the 
college under his direction. He came to the work with a Avilling 
spirit, asking that a larger amount of teaching than had been usual 
should be assigned him, and with a high ideal of what a college presi- 
dent should be. 

Allusion can here be made only to those traits of President Woods's 
character that appeared prominently in his administration. There 
had naturally been some disorder at the close of Dr. Allen's presi- 
dency. The new president called to his study, one after another, those 
who were believed to be leaders in the disturbances. "They went 



BOWDOIN COLLEGE. 71 

with surprise, for they believed ' all the old scores wiped off and there 
had been no time to run up hew ones. ' There was nothing said about 
old scores or new ones. The president met them with that kind and 
graceful courtesy that was peculiar to him. He talked to them of 
the opportunities of college life, and made them feel, as though it had 
been their thought rather than his, the obligation that such oppor- 
tunities impose. This simple conversation, held with one as he sat 
with him in his study, with another as he walked with him among 
the pines, was sufficient to transform these young men. He saved 
them to themselves, to the college, and to the world. One of them, 
not only as a minister of the church, brought like aid to many a wan- 
dering soul, but became in a special manner the helper of the presi- 
dent in the work of rescuing from entanglement in evil courses the 
young men who were tempted as he had been." a 

This was President Woods's method. In the ordinary college disci- 
pline of that day he placed small dependence. Believing that in every 
young man's heart there is a principle of honor that can be fully 
trusted, if once aroused, he had little faith in other means of securing 
obedience and attention to college duties. So happy were the results 
of this personal intercourse with this gifted man that one who knew 
him and the college well does not hesitate to write : 

Bowdoin College offered means of education in this respect unequaled in the 
country. Students found themselves at once in the presence of a culture that 
might have been the product of the best universities and the most polished 
courts of the Old World. They received from their president an influence such 
as men go abroad to seek, such as breathes in the aisles of old cathedrals. They 
learned from him what reverence means and loyalty. They learned that society 
is not a mere human invention. 

At the same time his colleagues and the public were not always 
content with methods and efforts that seemed to give a major share 
of attention to the bad boys, while the good ones were allowed to 
govern themselves. College students did not cease to be human, 
and according as one looked at what passed unpunished or at what 
was entirely prevented was he inclined to blame or praise the policy 
that directed the college discipline for over a quarter of a century. 

In 1840, following a desire expressed on the acceptance of his 
appointment, President Woods went abroad for a year to study the 
educational methods and institutions of the Old World. He went 
with a bias toward medievalism that was a source of wonder to those 
who knew him as a lover as well as a descendant of Puritan divines. 
An extract from a letter written at Oxford, where he met with Pusey, 
Newman, and other leaders in the tractarian movement, will explain 
in part why it was sometimes asked if he were not at heart a Catholic : 

All my prepossessions in favor of the English system of education have been 
justified after the most minute inspection. The studies are not more extensive or 
more thorough than with us, but there is here a magnificence of architecture, an 

« Address on Leonard Woods by Charles Carroll Everett. 



72 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

assemblage of paintings, statues, gardens, and walks: above all a solemnity and 
grandeur of religious worship which does more to elevate the taste and purify the 
character than the whole encyclopedia of knowledge. In each one of the 20 col- 
leges here there is a chapel, the poorest of which surpasses the richest I have ever 
seen in America. And the service daily performed within them is congruous to 
the place. In several of them it is performed by 8 chaplains and 16 choristers, 
robed in white, who are all supported by the foundations, and by whom, day by 
day and year after year, God is magnified in strains delivered down from the 
primitive church, if not the very strains of David himself. The effect produced 
by this service thus performed is inconceivably great, especially upon the young 
men here." 

Shortly after his return President Woods learned of the death in 
England, where he had long resided, of Mr. James Temple Bowdoin, 
on whom had been entailed valuable real estate in Massachusetts by 
the will of Hon. James Bowdoin. Inquiry led him to believe that the 
patron of the college, a strong Jeffersonian Democrat, never intended 
or desired that any of his property should go to a British subject, 
and his study of the law of contingent remainders convinced him 
that the college could justly advance its claims as residuary legatee. 
After consultation with eminent lawyers, he had this course pursued, 
in spite of the pooh-poohing of some of the trustees, themselves jur- 
ists of eminence, and the popular disapproval in Boston of the steps 
taken to bring the case before the courts. The case, however, was 
not tried. A compromise was proposed by the heirs of Mr. Temple 
Bowdoin, and in accordance with its terms a net sum of $31,696 was 
received by the college. 

This increase of funds led to the erection of a long-needed build- 
ing, a new college chapel. The old wooden chapel, which had also 
for forty years been called on to house the library, was not in accord 
with the needs or the dignity of the institution. The new structure, 
though it bears the name of Governor King, is in reality a memorial 
of President Woods. Its cost was largely defrayed by money that 
his skill and persistency had secured. His views were carried out by 
the architect in the style of the exterior as well as the arrangement 
of the interior. "We believe" said the many, "that meeting houses 
should be constructed according to the law T s of acoustics." "I 
believe," said President Woods, "that a church should be erected 
according to the laws of optics." The dream of his youth, of a struc- 
ture " eloquently building into itself the expressive cross and lifting 
up its spires to heaven as accompaniments of the prayers rising from 
it morning and evening, day and night," was realized in his middle 
age on the Bowdoin campus. The influence of this chapel during 
the last fifty years upon the students who have gathered within its 
walls has been as real as it has been silent. 

The building is in the round arched Romanesque style, and built of 
granite quarried within the town. Its facade is strongly marked by 

« Life and character of Leonard Woods, D. D., by Edwards A. Park, page 44. 



BOWDOLN" COLLEGE. 73 

twin towers whose spires rise to a height of 120 feet. The main walls, 
which equal in length the height of the towers, shut off the nave, which 
forms the chapel proper, from the aisles. These are thus made into 
separate rooms, and, with the choir in the rear, make a home for the 
library. The transepts break the long reach of the low roof of the 
aisles, and afford entrance and office rooms. It is the nave, or the 
chapel proper, which illustrates most clearly President Woods's aes- 
thetic ideas. On passing through the vestibule one finds himself in a 
broad aisle, on either side of which are five forms running lengthwise, 
with three rows of seats, each behind and above the other like the choir 
seats in a cathedral. These are occupied by the students, the lower 
classes sitting nearer the entrance, while members of the faculty occupy 
the seats between the forms or on the platform, which occupies the 
entire end of the room. High above this platform is the gallery, which 
affords admission to the room recently used for the art collections, 
and the entrance to which is so arranged that the large circular win- 
dow of stained glass at the east end pours a flood of light into the 
chapel in the morning. Directly opposite is the organ loft, with a 
gallery for the choir and a beautiful organ, the gift of a recent grad- 
uate. The woodwork, all of black walnut, has designs in relief in 
harmony with architecture of the building. Where the wainscoting 
ends the smooth walls rise nearly forty feet before they are broken 
by the clerestory windows. The space thus obtained is, by decorative 
frescoing, cast into 12 large panels for as many paintings. The 
panels on the north side are all filled by scenes illustrative of New 
Testament history, a and three of those on the opposite side set forth 
the Contest between St. Michael and the Dragon, after Raphael, by 
Otto; Adam and Eve, after Flandrin, by Vinton; and, the Giving of 
the Law, by Lathrop. The three by Mr. Lathrop are done in distem- 
per, the others in oil, that by Mr. Yinton being on canvas and glued 
to the wall. Above the pictures are 14 round-arched windows of 
stained glass, which, with those in the facade, give a dim, religious 
light. The ceiling, which is open to the roof, is painted blue, with 
golden stars. 

Illustrative of how beaut}^ rather than utility was sought by the 
architect is the traditional story that the first arrangement of the 
shelving, an arrangement appropriate to a chapter house, did not afford 
sufficient room for the books already possessed by the college, and the 
inconvenient galleries were constructed to obviate the defect. 

President Woods's absence in Europe and Professor Newman's resig- 
nation led to the employment again in 1840 of tutors. At least two 
of these should be mentioned, Henry Boynton Smith, a graduate of 

«The Annunciation, after Jalabert, the Adoration of the Magi, after Cornelius., 
by Mueller; the Baptism, the Transfiguration, after Raphael, by Lathrop; Peter 
and John healing the Cripple, Paul on Mars Hill, both from Raphael's cartoons „ 
by Mueller. 



74 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

1834, who, fresh from studies in Germany, took the instruction that 
would naturally fall to the president, and whose subsequent career 
as a teacher and theologian at Amherst and Union Theological Semi- 
nary indicate the quality of his work; and Henry H. Boody, who sub- 
sequently became a permanent member of the faculty, occupjdng the 
chair of rhetoric and oratoiy until 1854. 

New England colleges, with hardly an exception, have been denomi- 
national. An annual deficit of nearly $2,000 at the beginning of this 
administration, occurring in the face of the strictest economy, showed 
the necessit} 7 of an increased endowment. Efforts in this direction 
were made by several of the professors during one of the vacations. 
They naturally went to the denomination to which the}^ and the various 
presidents of the college had belonged. Their appeal met with the 
reply, "We do not know whether Bowdoin College is a Congregational 
or a Unitarian institution. It is ours by its history, but a majority of 
its trustees differ from us in doctrinal belief and in ecclesiastical 
affiliations." Under these circumstances the following declaration 
was drawn up and signed by 11 trustees (all but 3) and by 34 over- 
seers (all but 9). 

DECLARATION. 

Whereas it has been deemed desirable by some of the friends of Bowdoin Col- 
lege that its position in relation to the religious instruction which shall be given 
in the college, and in regard to the denominational character which it shall pro- 
fess, should be clearly understood, and also that some reasonable assurance of its 
future policy should be furnished to those who are disposed to contribute to its 
support: Now, the undersigned, members of the trustees and overseers of the col- 
lege, do hereby declare — 

First. That they regard it as a permanent principle in the administration 
of the college that science and literature are not to be separated from morals and 
Teligion. Against such a separation the charter of- the college has guarded, by 
requiring that its funds shall be appropriated, not only for improvement in the 
"liberal arts and sciences," but also in " such a manner as shall most effectually 
^promote virtue and piety. ' ' 

Second. That they are of opinion this object can be most fully accomplished, 
and at the same time the pecuniary ability of the college increased, by a known 
and established denominational character and position, whereby the college may 
be entitled to appeal for support to some particular portion of the community, by 
whom the corresponding obligation to afford it is recognized. 

Third. That although there is nothing expressly said in the college charter 
which requires it to have any particular denominational position, yet from its 
foundation it has been and still is of the Orthodox Congregational denomination, as 
indicated by the state of the religious community in Maine when the college was 
established, by the religious instruction which has heretofore been given, and by 
the opinions of its former and present presidents and of a large portion of those 
who have been engaged in its government and instruction. 

Fourth. That they consider any attempt to modify or change the character 
which it has so long maintained unwise and inexpedient, and they have no pur- 
pose or expectation of making such an attempt. 

Fifth. That in their opinion the boards of trustees and overseers and the academic 
faculty should be composed of those who are competent and willing to perform 



BOWDOIN COLLEGE. 75 

their respective duties in a manner not to impair or restrain, or in any degree 
conflict with, the moral and religious instruction which is designed to be given in 
the college, in harmony with its denominational character as herein defined, care 
being taken that such instruction be given by officers of that religious faith. 

Sixth. That although no purpose or expectation is entertained of attempting 
any change in the character of the college in the foregoing particulars, yet if , in 
the progress of opinions and events, it shall result that the "liberal arts and 
sciences, virtue and piety" can be more successfully advanced by some modifica- 
tion or changes, nothing herein expressed is to be understood as forbidding the 
trustees and overseers of that day from adopting such measures as shall best pro- 
mote the ends of the college and the advancement of religion and knowledge, a 
proper regard being always had to the circumstances and motives which induced 
this declaration. 

Seventh. The undersigned make this declaration as a basis of action, in the 
expectation and hope that it will secure the highest results of literature and piety, 
and that it will not only furnish a basis for pecuniary aid, but will also effect a 
conciliation of different views and interests, and thus present the college in the 
most favorable and satisfactory light before the public. 

With this statement the Congregationalists of Maine and Massa- 
chusetts were again appealed to by Professor Upham, who acted as 
soliciting agent, and over $70,000 was secured. A portion of this, by 
the desire of the donors, was devoted to the foundation of the Collins 
Professorship of Natural and Revealed Religion. This professorship 
was the result of a "belief on the part of several friends of the college 
that the time and thought of one man could well be given to the direct 
work of moral and religious instruction outside of the organized course 
of study. The provisions of its tenancy are so different from those 
of the ordinary professorship that it seems proper to give them in full. 

To increase the usefulness of the instruction at Bowdoin College it is proposed 
that a fund should be raised to found a professorship of theology, to be subject to 
the regulations stated on this paper as the elementary and essential principles of 
the foundation. 

1. The interest on the amount subscribed and paid for that purpose shall accu- 
mulate until the fund shall amount to at least $15,000, when, or as soon thereafter 
as the interest accruing annually shall amount to $1,000, a professor shall be 
elected and supported from the interest or income of the fund. 

2. The professor shall at all times be selected from ministers or ordained clergy- 
men in regular standing of the Trinitarian Orthodox Congregational denomination 
of Christians. 

3. The professor shall not be a member of the executive government of the col- 
lege, nor be required or allowed to communicate any knowledge of the character, 
opinions, or conduct of any student of the college obtained by intercourse or con- 
versation with the students. 

4. It shall be his duty to endeavor to cultivate and maintain a familiar inter- 
course with the students, and to visit and converse with them at their chambers, 
and by conversation, as well as by more formal teaching and preaching, to impress 
upon their minds the truths of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, their suitable- 
ness to promote the happiness of the present life, and the necessity that they 
should be cordially embraced to secure the happiness of a future and endless life. 

5. The trustees and overseers of the college may regulate the manner in which 
these duties shall be performed, and may prescribe other duties to be performed, 



76 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

including- ordinary instruction in the college; but may not do this so as to prevent 
the performance of the duties enjoined, or so as to cause the professor to teach or 
conduct in any manner inconsistent with the faithful performance of those duties. 

The chair was hold by a succession of distinguished men, whose 
labors were productive of much good. The first was Calvin E. Stowe, 
a graduate of the class of 1824, who resigned in 1852 to accept a pro- 
fessorship at Andover Theological Seminary. He was succeeded by 
Roswell Dwight Hitchcock, well known from his subsequent connec- 
tion with Union Theological Seminary. Egbert C. Smyth then held 
the position for seven years, till he also was drawn away to Andover 
Hill. The venerated Alpheus S. Packard discharged its duties dur- 
ing the last twenty years of his long life. The income having been 
for some time insufficient to pay the salary of such a man as the 
position demands, the college has been compelled to dispense with a 
portion of the duties and to add the others to the department of Greek. 
The scope of this professorship is best shown by the adjoined report 
to the visiting committee of the second occupant of the chair: 

The undersigned, Collins professor of natural and revealed religion, begs leave 
to make report of the diversified and somewhat peculiar labors of his office, as 
follows: 

First of all, his care is to make the particular acquaintance of each individual 
student as he enters upon his college course, gaining, if possible, his confidence, 
that he may learn his character, and adopt the wisest measures for the mental 
and moral advancement of each and of all. To this end, the students are invited 
to his house; called upon, so far as practicable, at their rooms, and in every way 
encouraged to make him their friend and adviser. These endeavors, he desires to 
say, have met with the kindest and most generous appreciation on the part of the 
students, whose bearing toward himself has been everything that could be asked. 

During the whole of the fall, and a part of the spring term, he has had the fresh- 
men three recitations a week in Paley's Natural Theology, connecting with these 
recitations near the beginning of the collegiate year a short series of practica^ 
lectures on such topics as health, study, manners, and morals. With the sopho- 
more class, a few weeks in the spring term were devoted to the reading of Cicero's 
treatise De Contemnenda Morte. With the juniors, Alexander's Moral Science, 
assigned to the summer term, and last year gone through with, has this year been 
omitted on account of the shortening of the term. 

On Saturday evenings, once a fortnight, religious lectures have been delivered, 
the attendance upon which, though voluntary, has been as large as the dimensions 
of the lecture room have been allowed to accommodate. And finally, on the Sab- 
bath, in the village church, where a large majority of the students worship, some 
ten or twelve discourses have been delivered, with special reference, in most cases, 
to the peculiar circumstances and wants of a community like this of ours. 

In all of which labors, so entirely congenial to his own tastes, the undersigned 
has enjoyed the heartiest sympathy and cooperation of the president and other 
officers of the college, to whom he feels himself largely indebted for that measure 
of success and comfort with which he has been enabled to pursue his work. He 
entreats now only the continued and increasing favor of the friends and patrons 
of the college, and, above all, the blessing of Heaven, without which no enterprise 
can prosper, either for the life that now is, or for that life which is to come. 

All of which is most respectfully submitted. 

Roswell D. Hitchcock. 



BOWDOIN COLLEGE. 77 

The definite avowal of the denominational character of the college 
aroused much feeling on the part of a few earnest and active friends 
of the institution, several of them on its board of trustees, who did 
not agree with the majority of their colleagues either as to the facts 
stated or as to the course pursued. They held that the institution 
was founded by the State; that differences in theological matters had 
not then divided the churches of the State; and that the principal 
benefactor, and perhaps the first president, belonged to the liberal 
wing, and in this century would not stand with the " Orthodox Con- 
gregationalists." The trustees holding these views felt that the 
declaration debarred the college from choosing aught less than a Con- 
gregationalist as president and as theological professor, but that it 
did not call upon them to fill all vacancies in their board from this 
denomination. This view was antagonized at the time by a majority 
of the board of overseers, and one or two elections to the upper board 
were vetoed by the lower. Finally a prominent layman in the Baptist 
denomination was chosen as a compromise. Subsequently two Con- 
gregational clerg3 T men were elected, and since that period a majority 
of the members have belonged to that denomination, although pains 
have been taken to have the body represent other Protestant denomi- 
nations. Subsequent gifts have been conditioned upon the denomina- 
tional character of the college, which has not been questioned of late 
years. The question of whether any of the professors should hold 
view T s inconsistent with the religious teachings of this denomination 
also arose at this time, and cost the college the services of at least one 
honored son, who has since gained fame for himself as well as for her 
at a larger institution. President Woods held the view now so gen- 
erally adopted, and for a score of years followed at Bowdoin, "that a 
man's fitness to teach any branch of secular learning does not depend 
on his theological belief." 

In 1852 the college celebrated with much eclat the jubilee anniver- 
sary of the first commencement. Of the 7 members of the first 
class 3 were living and present, while nearly 500 of the 1,000 gradu- 
ates also tendered their congratulations to alma mater in person. 
The anniversary exercises consisted of an address by Nehemiah 
Cleaveland, of the class of 1813, reviewing the histoiy of the college 
with reference to its personnel; an address by Chief Justice Tenney 
on the same subject from the scholastic side; a poem by Rev. Ephraim 
Peabody, D. D., and the singing of an ode written for the occasion 
by Rev. Elijah Kellogg. At the anniversary dinner held in a tempo- 
rary building erected for that purpose on the campus, Hon. George 
Evans presided, and among the speakers gracefully called upon Hon. 
Franklin Pierce as one of the two sons of Bowdoin upon whom the 
nation was about to impose the burden of leadership, the other refer- 
ence being to Hon. John P. Hale, who was the candidate of the Free 
Soil party. The attendance of the public was probably greater than 



78 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

at any subsequent commencement, with the possible exception of 
1875, when Longfellow delivered his Morituri Salutamus at the 
reunion of his class. Three thousand persons are said to have sought 
admission to the church where the commencement exercises were held. 

The restraint of narrow means, President Woods's conservatism, 
and that of the venerable prof essor of chemistry and mineralogy, kept 
the college from increasing the amount of natural history in the cur- 
riculum until early in the sixties. Prof. Paul A. Chad bourne, after- 
wards president of Williams College, succeeded Professor Cleaveland; 
and the foundation of the Josiah Little professorship of natural sci- 
ence enabled the college to add to its scientific staff a graduate of 
1859, Cyrus Fogg Brackett, now at Princeton. The amount of time, 
however, devoted to science was not materially increased during this 
administration, which closed in 1866. 

The president's reactionary views in political matters, made promi- 
nent by the events of the civil war, and, though not proclaimed, 
never disguised, led to so general a discontent as to hasten the resig- 
nation that he intended to offer on attaining his sixtieth year. He 
carried from the position the warm affections of hundreds of Bowdoin 
students. He had signed more diplomas than any of his predeces- 
sors. The graduates of these twenty-seven years include a chief 
justice of the United States Supreme Court, a judge of the circuit 
court, 5 judges of the State supreme court, 2 governors, 2 
United States Senators, a Speaker of the National House of Represent- 
atives, 1 at least of the great war generals, and 18 others, whose 
gallantry gained them that title. The remaining years of President 
Woods's quiet life were given to historical studies. He died Decem- 
ber 24, 1878. 

PRESIDENT HARRIS'S ADMINISTRATION. 

The fourth president of the college was chosen from the alumni. 
Samuel Harris, a member of the class of 1833, graduated at Andover 
Theological Seminary in 1838, and after two pastorates in Massachu- 
setts was called to the chair of systematic theology at Bangor Semi- 
nary. The duties of this position he had discharged with marked 
success for twelve years when, in 1867, at the suggestion of the retir- 
ing president, he was chosen to fill the vacancy. His inaugural, on 
the necessity, the idea, and methods of college instruction, delivered 
at the following commencement, shows clearly the aims of his admin- 
istration. The end of the college is "not to impart knowledge, but 
to strengthen and discipline the mind, to put the man in possession of 
himself, and to enable him with greatest facility to achieve the great- 
est and best results." It is the object of a college to make men. In 
respect to the popular demand for important changes in the course of 
study, he held that the natural sciences should reasonably receive 



BOWDOIN COLLEGE. 79 

increased attention, not on utilitarian grounds, nor because of their 
intrinsic importance, but that the three great subjects of human 
thought, nature, man, and God, should be considered in due proportion. 
The addition in 1868 of Prof. George L. Goodale, now director of 
the Harvard botanical garden, and two years later of Prof. E. S. 
Morse, to the corps of instructors in science, together with the require- 
ment of laboratory work from the students, led to marked interest in 
that side of the curriculum. A fortnightly publication, known as the 
Bowdoin Scientific Review, was conducted by Professors Brackett 
and Goodale. Of the comparatively small number of graduates dur- 
ing this period, one-tenth have given themselves to scientific research. 
On the other side of the curriculum, also, marked changes resulted 
from the death or retirement of the older men. In the ancient lan- 
guages, Prof. Jotham B. Sewall succeeded Prof essor Packard ; in math- 
ematics, Prof. Charles G. Rockwood, jr., now of Princeton, followed 
Professor Smyth. President Harris assumed the department of men- 
tal and moral philosophy. Of the character of his instruction hun- 
dreds of students can testify, and the public on both sides of the ocean 
are aware from his Philosophical Basis of Theism and Self Revelation 
of God. The responsibilities of the college presidency weighed heav- 
ily upon Dr. Harris, and he had a singular distrust of his personal 
qualifications to obtain the largely increased endowment necessary to 
a successful accomplishment of his plans. These two facts, with the 
tempting offer of a professorship- of theology in Yale University, led 
him, in 1871, to resign a position he had held with honor to himself 
and advantage to the college. 

PRESIDENT CHAMBERLAIN'S ADMINISTRATION. 

The fifth president, like his predecessor, was chosen from the 
alumni of the institution. Gen. Joshua L. Chamberlain, a graduate 
of 1852, pursued a course of theological study at Bangor Seminary; 
on its completion was recalled to his alma mater as an instructor, 
and was a successful teacher in the department of modern languages 
and of rhetoric and oratory. Shortly after the outbreak of the war 
he received leave of absence, entered the Army, and served to the 
end of the contest with distinction. He was twice wounded, once so 
severely that its effects are still felt; was promoted by General Grant 
on the field of battle to be brigadier-general "for gallant conduct in 
leading his brigade in a charge;" had the honor to be assigned to 
receive the formal surrender of Lee's army at Appomattox Court- 
House, and left the Army with the brevet rank of major-general and 
the command of a division. After a brief service as acting president 
at the close of Dr. Woods's administration, he resigned his professor- 
ship to assume the office of governor of the State, to which he was 
chosen in 1866 and to which he was thrice reelected by large major- 



SO EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

ities. With great unanimity on the part of the boards and with the 
hearty approval of the friends of the college he was chosen to suc- 
ceed Or. Harris. 

The difficulty of finding room in the prescribed curriculum for new 
sciences without an excessive abridgment of the time devoted to the 
classics, mathematics, and modern languages, together with the ever- 
reeurring popular demand for the so-called practical studies, led to 
the establishment at the very beginning of President Chamberlain's 
administration of a scientific department parallel with but quite dis- 
tinct from the classical department. The latter was expected to 
maintain the traditions of the past, while the new course met the 
needs of those who desired collegiate training as a prerequisite to 
business rather than professional pursuits. The curriculum in the 
high schools and academies of the State rendered impracticable an 
entrance requirement in modern languages or in natural science, 
and as Greek could not be demanded with consistency, admission to 
the scientific department, despite extra examinations in history and 
English, was for a year or two more easily obtained than to the clas- 
sical department. A large increase, however, in the amount of Latin 
required soon shut off all applicants who had not pursued a three 
years' course of study in well-conducted high schools and academies. 
The courses in the scientific department were prescribed, and consisted 
in freshman year of French, mathematics, English and ancient his- 
tory; in sophomore year of chemistry, mathematics, logic, botany, and 
mineralogy; in junior year of German, physics, zoology, physiology, 
and astronomy; in senior year of geology, mental and moral philos- 
ophy, political economy, constitutional and international law. Ap- 
plied science was represented by a separate course made up of civil 
and mechanical engineering, combined with the above by the addition 
of drawing in place of the ancient history of freshman year and of the 
logic of the sophomore year and by the omission during the last two 
years of all save German, physics, and political economy. This 
course in engineering was from the first under the personal direction 
of Prof. George L. Vose, afterwards of the Massachusetts Institute of 
Technology, an admirable and thorough instructor, whose text-books 
and pupils alike testify to the character of the work he did at Bowdoin. 

During the ten years in which the scientific department was main- 
tained, about 30 per cent of those applying for admission to college 
entered it, and about one-fourth of the graduates for the same period 
received the degree of bachelor of science. Bowdoin College through- 
out its entire history has been largely dependent upon tuition charges 
to pay the salaries of instructors. The experience of ten years seemed 
to indicate that the demand for what this department afforded was not 
sufficient to warrant an institution with so few endowed chairs in a 
longer maintenance of it. On the one hand it had as competitor the 



BOWDOIK COLLEGE. 81 

State Agricultural College with free tuitiou and lower requirements 
for admission, and on the other the Massachusetts Institute of Tech- 
nology with resources in the way of appliances and laboratories which 
it could not equal. 

The discontinuance of the scientific department was accompanied 
by a careful rearrangement of the college curriculum in which the 
principle of elective studies was frankly adopted, though with limita- 
tions as to number and position in the course. From as early as 1813 
♦ there had been optional studies. These were of two classes; first, 
those in which a choice between two was open to the student, as for 
instance between Greek and Calculus; and second, where supple- 
mental courses were offered and jmrsued as extra studies. This 
modernized curriculum, though it has been repeatedly improved in 
its details by changes in the order, and by the addition of electives in 
the later years of the course, has proved to be a happy medium 
between the old routine of Latin, Greek, and mathematics, with 
mental philosophy and bits of natural science, and the university 
system of departmental or entirely elective studies. 

The important part taken by the officers of volunteer forces during 
the late war led, as is known, to a widespread effort at its close to 
introduce both the military drill and the study of military tactics into 
the higher educational institutions of the country, and the Govern- 
ment was authorized to detail army officers for that purpose. Bow- 
doin enjoyed for ten years the services of officers under this system 
whose instruction in the recitation room was excellent and appre- 
ciated. The military drill, however, which was required during half 
the year was extremely unpopular with the students. At its intro- 
duction some needlessly expensive requirements as to dress were 
made, while the time required by it, somewhat over an hour a day, 
was felt to be as excessive as the exercise was irksome. The suspen- 
sion of one or two students in the spring of 1874 for disrespect shown 
this part of the course led to one of those sudden college rebellions 
which possess an almost inexplicable power to carry into foolish and 
indefensible action not only excitable and wayward, but also ordi- 
narily clear-headed and well-disposed young men. With compara- 
tively few exceptions all the members of the three lower classes signed 
a compact nob to drill again. Despite the representations and argu- 
ments of the faculty, they persisted in maintaining their obligation 
to keep this promise to their associates. Consequently far the greater 
part of the student body were sent to their homes, followed by a circu- 
lar letter to their parents stating that each student must renew within 
ten days his matriculation pledge of obedience to all the regulations 
of college, including the performance of the military drill, on penalty 
of expulsion. This resulted in the return within the specified time of 
all save three or four. At the following commencement the boards, 
10324— No. 3—03 6 



82 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

not without some opposition, made the military drill elective with 
work in the gymnasium, and this arrangement continued until 1882, 
when instruction in military science was entirely discontinued. 

This administration was marked by substantial additions to the 
college funds. Through the exertions of the president and others an 
alumni endowment fund of $100,000 was raised. Mr. Henry Winkley, 
of Philadelphia, who became interested in the college solely through 
the work it was doing and gave without solicitation, liberally endowed 
the Latin professorship. Mrs. Valeria Stone, of Maiden, Mass., 
endowed the chair of mental and moral philosophy. This professor- 
ship since its endowment has been held by Prof. George T. Ladd, 
now of Yale University, Prof. Gabriel Campbell, now of Dartmouth 
College, and by Rev. Dr. Samuel G. Brown, late president of Hamilton 
College. Its endowment also enabled President Chamberlain to give 
all his attention to instruction in political economy and constitutional 
law, the courses in which were more prominent and popular than ever 
before. 

Shortly after the close of the civil war it was proposed to erect a 
memorial hall in memory of the Bowdoin students who had fallen in the 
struggle. This scheme enlisted the enthusiastic labor of Prof. William 
Smyth, who at his death, in 1868, had solicited for this purpose upward 
of $30,000, mostly in small amounts, from the alumni. The exterior of 
the building was more expensive than was anticipated, costing nearly 
$50,000. Its interior was completed in this administration through a 
further gift of $25,000 from Mrs. Stone. The first floor contains a room 
for faculty meetings, a small hall, and two commodious recitation rooms. 
The second floor is given entirely to the memorial hall proper, a spa- 
cious audience room used for the public exercises of the college. The 
walls are hung with portraits of the presidents, benefactors, and dis- 
tinguished graduates of the college. On bronze tablets on the east 
side are inscribed the names and rank of 289 Bowdoin students who 
fought for the Union. To understand the significance of this number 
it should be remembered that in 1864 the college had less than 1,200 
living graduates. 

Extensive commercial enterprises in which President Chamberlain 
had gradually become interested made such demands upon his time 
and energies that in 1883 he resigned the presidency, and though for 
two years longer the college enjoyed during a portion of the year his 
services as lecturer, his residence has been mainly in New York City. 
Two years elapsed before a new president was elected. The executive 
duties of the position were meanwhile discharged in part by Rev. Dr. 
Packard, but mainly by Prof. Henry L. Chapman, D. D., who was 
appointed dean of the faculty. 







' 



BOWDOIN COLLEGE. 83 



In 1885 the boards unanimously chose to fill the existing vacancy 
William De Witt Hyde, then a young man of 26. A native of Win- 
chendon, Mass. , he pursued his preparatory course at Phillips Exeter 
Academy and graduated with high honors at Harvard in 1879. He at 
once entered upon the study of theology, spent one year at Union 
Theological Seminary and completed the course at Andover Theo- 
logical Seminary. He had given much attention to philosophy, being 
one of the founders of the Harvard Philosophical Club, and he spent 
the academic year 1882-83 in advanced study in that and kindred sub- 
jects at Andover and Cambridge. He came to Brunswick from a suc- 
cessful pastorate of two years over the Congregational Church at Pat- 
erson, N. J. It had been thought desirable that the instruction in 
mental and moral philosophy should be in the hands of the president, 
and the ability and insight Dr. Hyde had displayed in that depart- 
ment doubtless influenced the trustees in their choice. Their confi- 
dence • was well placed. The courses conducted by him, though 
acknowledged as difficult, are reckoned among the popular studies of 
the curriculum. The interest aroused is attested by the voluntary 
formation of a club of undergraduates for the further study of the 
problems brought to their attention. 

President Hyde's administration of the college has been wise and 
progressive. He is a firm believer in the mission of the small college 
and has labored efficiently to make Bowdoin a model of that class of 
institutions. Friends, some of them appearing in unexpected quar- 
ters, have bestowed of their wealth, and the burden of poverty that 
has in the past hampered all efforts for improvement and extension 
has been materially lightened. The benefactions received since 1885 
amount to $200,000, one half being from the Fayerweather estate, and 
double this sum will probably accrue to the college from the estate of 
Mrs. Catharine M. G-arcelon, of Oakland, Cal. The policy which he 
has pursued may best be set forth in his own words, as given in an 
article in the Educational Review of November, 1891 : 

There are two fundamental lines of scholarly interest and two corresponding 
types of mind, the literary and the scientific. The college should, by its required 
courses, insure to every student an acquaintance with the first principles in both 
these fundamental lines of study. The college may wisely require of its candi- 
dates for a degree ability to read both French and German, to write correct 
English, the elements of political and economical science, psychology, and ethics 
on the side of literature and life of man; and higher algebra, geometry and trigo- 
nometry, and the elements of chemistry, physics, and biology on the side of 
mathematics and physical science. For the remaining half of the course suf- 
ficient electives should be offered to allow concentration on either literary or 
scientific studies, according to the taste and interest of the individual student. 
The chief business of the college is to train young men for active life, and a good 
proportion of a college faculty should be men who have gained maturity of char- 
acter through experience in the great school of life; men who have studied a 



84 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

profession, or interested themselves in some practical social problem, or have 
traveled extensively, or have edited a paper or delivered lectures, and at the same 
time have kept alive and fresh their scholarly pursuits and aims. In the college 
professor the man must be more than the scholar, if both he and his department 
are to gain the highest respect of his students. Still, in order to fulfill its other 
function of awakening the scholarly impulse in those who have capacity for 
purely scholarly careers, no college faculty should be without a group of men 
fully equipped with university training and thoroughly imbued with the univer- 
sity spirit, though these men must be selected with the greatest care out of scores 
of candidates and with reference to their human, quite as much as their scholas- 
tic, qualifications. Of course the two types of men may be blended in the same 
individual. Such men are, however, somewhat rare. The presence of two or 
three upon a faculty insures to a college perpetual prosperity and power. 

The objects of college government are to secure good order and freedom from 
disturbance in the buildings and on the grounds of the college and to protect the 
thoughtless and immature from their own folly and vice. In a small college the 
first object can be most effectively secured by putting the whole responsibility for 
good order into the hands of the students themselves, as represented by a senate 
or jury of their own election. Their own sense of fitness, their loyalty to the col- 
lege, and their regard for its good name, together with their superior oppor- 
tunities for ascertaining the facts about any disturbance, render them the best 
guardians of its peace and order that a college can secure. In order to make this 
system work, however, it must be a reality and not a pretense. The faculty must 
put the whole responsibility entirely upon the students, reserving no veto power 
or right of reconsideration to themselves. In Bowdoin College this responsibility 
has been delegated to the students during the past eight years, and throughout 
that period no question of this kind had been dealt with by president or faculty. 
The students have acted on their own judgment of what is just and right. Some- 
times they have acted wisely, sometimes they have acted unwisely; sometimes 
they have failed to act at all. But in every case the full responsibility has been 
with them. There has been a steady advance in the fidelity and efficiency with 
which the jury has done its work, and during the last two years they have done 
all that the strictest faculty would, and more than any faculty could have done to 
maintain the good order and elevate the standard of conduct in and about the 
college grounds. 

The reformation of individual students can be done better by personal influence 
of president and professor than by formal faculty action. If a student fails to 
respond to this personal appeal he should be removed as quietly as possible at the 
first convenient season, in a way that will least attract the attention of the oat- 
side world, least hurt the feelings of parents and friends, and most kindly and 
firmly impress upon the student the fact that he and not the college is to blame 
for the severing of their connection. 

The assumption with reference to students should be not that they are criminals, 
to be properly punished for every crime they commit, but that they are thought- 
less and immature persons, who often need advice and warning and reproof; who, 
as a rule, mean to do right, and can be much more efficiently controlled by good 
will and patience than by wrath and vengeance. In a word, the government of a 
small college should be that of a large family; the welfare of the students, col- 
lective and individual, should be its single aim, and the fewest rules and the 
slightest penalties and the least display of authority that will accomplish these 
ends is the ideal of college government. 

The spirit and tone of the college should be in the broadest sense of the term 
religious. It is simply inconceivable that young men between IT and 25 should 
be content with the mere doing of the particular tasks assigned them from day 



BOWDOIN COLLEGE. 85 

to day, regardless of the wider relations and deeper meaning of their lives. The 
maintenance of this religious tone and spirit, which is manly because it is godly, 
and is superior to the shocks of time and fortune because it is rooted and grounded 
in eternity and God, should be the distinctive and crowning glory of a small 
college. 

For combining sound scholarship with solid character; for making men both 
intellectually and spiritually free; for uniting the pursuit of truth with reverence 
for duty, the small college, open to the worthy graduates of every good high 
school, presenting a course sufficiently rigid to give symmetrical development, 
and sufficiently elastic to encourage individuality along congenial lines, taught by 
professors who are men first and scholars afterwards, governed by kindly per- 
sonal influence, and secluded from too frequent contact with social distractions, 
has a mission which no change of educational conditions can take away, and a 
policy which no sentiment of vanity or jealousy should be permitted to turn aside. 

The instruction at Bowdoin is divided into thirteen departments, 
two of which are to be subdivided in the near future. In each the 
teaching is in the hands of a professor or permanent member of the 
faculty. While assistants are regularly employed in the laboratories 
and library and instructors occasionally fill temporary vacancies, the 
actual work of instruction is assumed by the professor. The depart- 
ment of philosophy is in charge of the president, who is Stone professor 
of mental and moral philosophy. The course extends through the 
three terms of senior year, and is required, save in the winter term. 
Psychology is first taken up and is taught with constant reference to 
its practical bearings. It is followed in the second term by a con- 
sideration of the history of philosophy, in which the aim "is to famil- 
iarize the student with the spirit and method of speculative thought 
and to stimulate inquiry and reflection on the grounds of rational 
certitude and religious faith." President Hyde has devoted much 
attention to ethics, and in the closing term of the year gives a " review 
of modern ethical systems and a presentation of the more prominent 
particular duties which are essential to man's realization of himself 
as a social and spiritual being." 

The department of English literature is in charge of Henry L. Chap- 
man, D. D., Edward Little professor of rhetoric, oratory, and English 
literature. The course consists of the study of Bacon's Essays and 
Milton's Areopagitica as an elective in sophomore year, and of a 
course, also elective, on the history and development of literature from 
the earliest times to the nineteenth century, which extends throughout 
the senior year. Logic, both deductive and inductive, is a required 
study, and is taught by the professor of English literature. 

The department of rhetoric and oratory is in charge of Mr. Albert 
W, Tolman, A. M. The required course consists of lectures and ex- 
ercises in elocution during two terms of freshman year; of the text- 
book study of rhetoric for one term in sophomore year; of practical 
rhetoric, i. e., extemporaneous composition, original declamations and 
critical study of literary style, to which the third term of junior year 
is given, and of the writing of themes during each 1 term of the last- 



86 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

inent Loned years. Elective work in this department consists in courses 
of private reading, selected with a view to appreciating and develop- 
ing a correct literary style, and in personal instruction in elocution, 
open especially to seniors and juniors. 

The department of history and political science is in charge of Prof. 
D. Collin Wells. It is intended by the establishment of a new chair 
to largely increase the courses in history. They now consist of an 
elective open to the junior class and extending throughout that year 
in English and modern history and of a course in United States his- 
tory in which especial attention is directed toward the economic and 
constitutional development of the nation. The work in political sci- 
ence extends through the senior year and is a required study in the 
winter term when political economy is taken up. Elective courses in 
anthropology and comparative sociology are also offered during the 
last year of the curriculum. 

The department of French is in charge of Henry Johnson, Ph. D., 
Longfellow professor of modern languages. The study of this lan- 
guage is required throughout the freshman year. It is pursued as an 
elective during sophomore year. Instruction in Italian is also offered 
in this department, the course being an introduction to the study of 
Dante. 

The department of German is in charge of Mr. George T. Files, A. M. , 
who is now in Germany on leave of absence. His place is temporarily 
occupied by Mr. C. N. B. Wheeler, A. B. This language is a required 
study throughout sophomore year and is pursued as an elective dur- 
ing the following year. 

The department of Greek is in charge of Prof. Frank E. Woodruff, 
A. M., who is also Collins professor of natural and revealed religion. 
In this latter capacity he conducts the work in biblical literature, 
which is made up of a required course in one of the gospels in the 
third term of freshman year, and of an elective course during two 
terms of the senior year, in which different portions of the Old Testa- 
ment are studied from a literary and historical standpoint. The 
Greek language and literature is a required study during freshman 
year and may be pursued as an elective during the remainder of the 
course. 

The department of Latin is in charge of William C. Lawton, A. B., 
Winkley professor of Latin. The study of this language is required 
during the first year and may be pursued as an elective during the 
three remaining years. The object of the various courses in this, as 
indeed in the other language departments, is to contribute to general 
literary culture rather than to develop a few specialists in philology. 

The department of mathematics is in charge of Prof. William A. 
Moody, A. M. This science is required during the first year, higher 
algebra, solid geometry, and plane and spherical trigonometry being 
studied. To those desiring additional work brief courses in modern 



BOWDOLN" COLLEGE. 87 

geometry, in practical mensuration, and in surveying are offered in 
successive terms. The courses during sophomore and junior years 
are elective and include analytic geometry, differential and integral 
calculus, and quaternions. 

The department of chemistry and mineralogy is in charge of 
Franklin C. Robinson, A. M. , Josiah Little professor of natural science. 
The courses in this department begin in junior year and extend 
through two years, being required the first and elective the second. 
Instruction is given by lectures and experimental work. A view of 
the chemical laboratory is given on the adjoining page. 

The department of biology and geology is in charge of Prof. Leslie A. 
Lee, Ph. D. The work in biology begins in the third term of sopho- 
more year and extends through the remainder of the course, and is 
from the first elective. While text-books are used in the study of 
botany, physiology, zoology and anatomy, great stress is laid on labo- 
ratory work, to which much time and attention is given. The 
mastery of principles and training in scientific observation is sought, 
rather than mere acquisition of facts. The biological laboratory, 
though hardly large enough for the classes that elect this study, is 
well supplied with microscopes and other instruments, and has exten- 
sive zoological collections. The interest aroused in this department, 
as well as the character of the work done, is indicated by the results 
of a scientific expedition to Labrador in the summer of 1891, led by 
Professor Lee and composed of Bowdoin students and graduates. 
The course in geology is an elective of the senior year. The elements 
of the science are taken up in order and as much study given to rocks 
and fossils, especially those that can be collected by the student, as 
time will allow. It is proposed to establish at an early day a profes- 
sorship of geology and mineralogy, which will increase the number of 
electives in science, and lead to their introduction earlier in the 
course. 

The department of physics and astronomy is in charge of Prof. 
Charles C. Hutchins, A. M. Elementary physics is a required study 
during two terms of the sophomore year and is followed in junior 
year by a course of the same length designed to afford laboratory 
practice. A required course in astronomy is given in the first term 
of junior year. This is followed by an elective course in practical 
astronomy, for which admirable facilities are enjoyed through the 
recent erection and complete equipment of an observatory. The 
course includes the theory and adjustment of instruments and the 
making and reducing of observations. 

The department of physical culture is in charge of Frank N. Whit- 
tier, M. D., director of the gymnasium and lecturer on hygiene. A 
brief course of lectures on human anatomy and physiology, illustrated 
by means of the extensive collections and models of the medical 
school, and followed by a similar course on personal hygiene, is given 



88 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

each class upon entering college. Every undergraduate has a thorough 
medical and physical examination at the beginning of the college 
year. From the measurements and strength tests taken, a chart is 
made out for each student, showing his size, strength, and symmetry 
in comparison with the normal standard ; and also what parts of the 
body are defective either in strength or development. At the same 
time the student receives a handbook containing the exercises pre- 
scribed for the purpose of correcting the physical defects shown by 
his chart, with specific directions in regard to diet and bathing. 
From November until April each class is required to exercise in the 
Sargent gymnasium, under the supervision of the director, for a half 
hour on four days of every week. A graded course of class exercise 
has been arranged. The freshmen have military drill and Indian 
club swinging; the sophomores, exercises with wands or dumb-bell; 
the juniors, fencing with single sticks; the seniors, fencing with foils 
or broadswords. For the exercises with the chest weights, bars, 
rings, etc., each class is divided into three divisions and the work is 
carefully graded to suit the strength of each division. 

The gradual growth of physical culture into an essential part of the 
Bowdoin curriculum has been interesting and perhaps instructive. 
Over seventy years ago the faculty noted unusual prevalence of sick- 
ness one spring term, due, they thought, to insufficient exercise, and 
they formally recommended the students to engage in playing ball. 
Further than such advice and the furnishing of simple apparatus like 
horizontal bars and swings in the open air the college authorities did 
not go until about 1860, when Commons Hall was fitted up as a gym- 
nasium and graded exercises were conducted by Mr. William C. Dole, 
subsequently connected with similar work at Yale. Since this time, 
with the exception of a few years, instruction has been regularly 
given, generally by a physician, and work in the gymnasium has been 
required since 1872. In 1885-86 a commodious and well-arranged 
gymnasium was erected at a cost of $12 3 000. This is named the Sar- 
gent Gymnasium, in honor of Dr: Dudley A. Sargent, of Harvard Uni- 
versity, who was instructor here for five years and who furnished it 
with complete sets of the most approved gymnastic apparatus. The 
building is heated by steam, lighted by electricity, and is supplied 
with all needed facilities for bathing. 

The faculty of the present day do not find it necessary to recom- 
mend to the students athletic games. There exists among them 
organizations for the support and practice of baseball, boating, foot- 
ball, tennis, and general athletics. The annual field-day exercises 
and the class races early in June are events of much importance to 
the undergraduates. Intercollegiate contests in all these games win 
much attention, and have to be restrained rather than encouraged. 
At the same time this athletic side of college life is believed to be of 
advantage to the student and has the personal cooperation of mem- 



BOWDOIN COLLEGE. 89 

bers of the faculty, who with alumni serve upon the committee having 
a general oversight of these interests. A commodious boat house has 
been erected on the banks of the Androscoggin for the use of the 
boating association, and for the expenses of this as well as the other 
athletic organizations considerable money is annually raised by sub- 
scription from graduates and undergraduates. 

THE MEDICAL SCHOOL. 

From its successful inception in 1820, of which an account has been 
given above, the medical department of the college has made advances 
somewhat remarkable in view of the lack of endowment. The with- 
drawal of State aid in 1834 was keenly felt on the side of the library, 
but the accession to the faculty of men like John Delamater, William 
Sweetser, Reuben Dimond Mussey, Edmund R. Peaslee, and For 
dyce Barker enabled the institution to maintain its standing in the 
front rank of New England schools. In 1860, through the liberality 
of the late Seth Adams and the grant of half a township of land from 
the State, a large brick building was erected for the special use of the 
school. This contains large lecture rooms, the chemical laboratory, 
dissecting rooms, and ample accommodations for the medical library 
and anatomical collections. The latter have been increased by exten- 
sive purchases and are of much value. The course of lectures which 
at first extended over three months now includes five, the graduation 
exercises of the school preceding the academic commencement day. 
The professorships have been increased from four to eight, the fees 
from $45 to $78. Medical and surgical clinics are held every week. 
Though many patients thus appear before the class, certain diseases 
can of course be observed only in hospitals. For this reason mainly 
it has been proposed to remove the school to Portland and thus bring 
it into close connection with the Maine General Hospital. The diffi- 
culty of securing means for the purchase of a site and the erection of 
the necessary buildings has hitherto prevented the execution of this 
plan. The prospective endowment of $200,000 from the estate of Mrs. 
Catharine M. Garcelon will enable this and other plans for the increased 
effectiveness of the school to be carried out. 

Candidates for a degree must pass satisfactory oral and written 
examinations in anatomy, physiology, surgery, chemistiy, materia 
medica, pharmacy, obstetrics, pathology, and practice, present a dis- 
sertation on some medical subject, and produce evidence of having 
attended three full courses of lectures at some regular incorporated 
medical institution and of having devoted three years to professional 
studies. Among those who of late have been connected with the school 
for a series of years there may be mentioned Alonzo B. Palmer, in the 
department of theory and practice; William W. Greene, in that of 
surgery; and Burt G. Wilder, in that of physiology. The faculty in 
1892 was made up as follows: Israel T. Dana, A. M., M. D., pro- 



90 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

fessor of obstetrics and diseases of women and children ; Stephen H. 
Weeks, A. M., M. D., professor of surgery; Charles O. Hunt, A. M., 
M. D., professor of materia medica and therapeutics; Lucilius A. 
Emery, A. M., professor of medical jurisprudence; Frederic Henry 
Gerrish, A. M., M. D., professor of anatomy; Franklin C. Robinson, 
A. M., professor of chemistry; Charles D. Smith, A. M., M. D., pro- 
fessor of physiology; William L. Dana, demonstrator of anatomy; 
Everett T. Nealey, M. D., demonstrator of histology. 

THE COLLEGE LIBRARY. 

The library, although from its establishment the largest collection 
of books in the State, has suffered in the past from the poverty of the 
institution. The average annual expenditure for the purchase of new 
books during a period of eighty years did not exceed $200. These 
accessions, however, were selected with much thought, by the presi- 
dent in earlier years, subsequently by the successive professors of 
modern languages, under whose charge the library has been for the 
greater part of this time. It was, therefore, mainly through gifts 
that it came to hold in 1883 the tenth place in size among the college 
libraries of the country. The first notable addition was the private 
library of Hon. James Bowdoin, numbering 4,000 volumes, and rich 
in scientific works, in the documentary history of France, and in 
political writings relating to the formation of the Constitution of the 
United States. In 1820, 400 volumes were received through President 
Allen from Thomas Wallcut, esq., of Boston. These included many 
rare volumes, such as John Eliot's Indian Bible, Cotton Mather's 
Magnalia, and was rich in the works of Puritan divines. Rev. John 
A. Vaughan, an alumnus, presented a valuable collection of 1,200 
volumes, mostly scientific publications. The library was fortunately 
included among the institutions receiving the 100 folio volumes of the 
record commission of Great Britain in 1834. Subsequent gifts, hardly 
less valuable, are too numerous to be mentioned in detail. In 1863, 
when the collection numbered nearly 15,000 volumes, an admirable 
catalogue was prepared by the librarian, Rev. William P. Tucker. 
This is an octavo volume of over 800 pages, with full author entries 
and a subject-index, and was made in close accordance with the rules 
proposed by Professor Jewett of the Smithsonian Institution. While 
the growth of the library has affected the usefulness of this printed 
catalogue, its accuracy and completeness make it a valuable biblio- 
graphical aid, and it supplies the foundation of the card catalogue 
now used. The incorporation of the society libraries in 1880 largely 
increased the size of the collection, and with its subsequent growth 
led to the occupation of the two large wings of the chapel, besides 
Banister Hall, which was especially designed for the library. In 1885 
the present librarian, George T. Little, who had been in charge of the 
department of Latin, was relieved of much of his work as an instructor, 



BOWDOIN COLLEGE. 91 

and a few years later was enabled to give all his time to the library. 
This increase of attention, and especially the changes in methods of 
instruction, have made the library a very important factor in the edu- 
cational work of the college. It is opened throughout the day and 
during two hours of the evening. It now receives liberal annual 
appropriations from the boards, and has, largely through the gener- 
osity of Rev. Elias Bond, D. D., and the late John L. Sibley, A. M., 
book funds amounting to $17,000. Including the medical library — 
which is in another building, but under the same management — it 
numbers 49,000 volumes, and the annual accessions average 1,500. 
In the administration of the library, in which the librarian is aided 
by a cataloguer and four student assistants, especial effort is made to 
render help to all inquirers. A regular course in bibliography, made 
up of lectures and practical work, has been given the present year as 
an elective to the juniors in connection with English history, and it is 
proposed to offer to each class more or less formal instruction in the 
use and selection of books. 

ART COLLECTIONS. 

A feature in its educational equipment which distinguishes Bow- 
doin from the other smaller colleges, if not indeed from the universi- 
ties of the country, is the possession of a collection of paintings and 
drawings which could not be duplicated save by a lavish expenditure 
of money. These collections, purchased abroad by Hon. James Bow- 
doin at the commencement of this century, came to the college at his 
death, have been increased by gifts from many sources, and are soon 
to have, through the munificence of the Misses Walker, of Boston, a 
fireproof building, designed solely for their proper display and pres- 
ervation. The drawings, though they number only 140, are repre- 
sentative of Italian, French, Flemish, and English schools of art, and 
include sketches by Titian, Correggio, Domenichino, Salvator Rosa, 
Rembrandt, Berghem, Poussin, and Claude Lorraine. The Bowdoin 
paintings, aside from family portraits, number 70, and include a 
Van Dyck and a Rubens, besides several ascribed on good grounds to 
Hogarth, Wouvermanns, Hondekoter, Berghem, with copies from 
Titian and Raphael. They also include portraits of Jefferson and 
Madison, painted by Gilbert Stuart especially for Mr. Bowdoin, who 
was a personal friend of each. Subsequent additions bring up the 
number of canvases to 150. Among these may be mentioned a por- 
trait by Copley; a large landscape by Wiist, which cost the donor 
upwards of $1,000; and a painting of Hagar and Ishmael, obtained from 
a church at Rome and dating back to Titian's time, if not, as the donor 
believed, the work of his brush. Besides these paintings and draw- 
ings, the college has a small but well-selected collection of casts of 
the masterpieces of Greek sculpture, many portrait busts by Ameri- 
can sculptors, and an interesting series of slabs illustrative of 
Assyrian art, taken from the excavations at Nineveh. 



98 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

STUDENT SOCIETIES. 

The two general literary societies, the Peucinian and the Athenian, 
have played an important part at Bowdoin, not only in the social life 
of the students, but also in their education. Their establishment 
dates from the first decade of this century, and they gradually came 
to include in their membership the entire student body. Each held 
regular and frequent meetings for literary exercises for over fifty 
years, and many of the distinguished men whose names appear in 
their triennial catalogues are said to have gained as well as displayed 
oratorical skill in the carefully prepared debates, which were a lead- 
ing feature of these occasions. The anniversaries of the societies, at 
which an oration and poem were delivered by some, prominent gradu- 
ate or honorary member, were, next to commencement, the events of 
the collegiate 3^ear. The intense rivalry between the societies for 
members fortunately extended to the character of the literary exer- 
cises and the growth and value of the respective libraries. The 
amounts contributed by the undergraduates themselves for the pur- 
chase of new books were often double those appropriated by the 
boards for the increase of the college library. In their selection the 
advice of the president and of other members of the faculty were fre- 
quently sought. Graduate members Were solicited for gifts, both of 
books and of money. The two libraries, each of upward 5,000 vol- 
umes, were in 1870, when growth ceased, remarkably complete and 
valuable collections of the general literature and current periodicals 
of the forty years preceding. They occupied, with the assembly 
rooms of the societies, one-half the lower story of Maine Hall, which 
had been fitted up for their occupation in President Allen's adminis- 
tration. In 1880 they were merged in the college library. The story 
of the decline of these societies at Bowdoin is like that of similar 
organizations in the other New England colleges. For a series of 
years the secret or Greek letter fraternities existed side by side with 
them. Gradually, however, the latter gained in influence and impor- 
tance and engrossed the time, thought, and interest formerly given to 
organizations more distinctively literary in their character and object. 

A chapter of the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity was established at 
Bowdoin in 1841, of the Psi Upsilon in 1843, of the Delta Kappa Epsi- 
lon in 1844, of the Theta Delta Chi in 1854, and of the Zeta Psi in 
1867. For a score of years it has been customary for a large majority 
of each entering class to accept invitations to membership in some 
one of these societies. They are recognized by the faculty, many of 
whom as former members are welcomed at their meetings. Each has 
a well-furnished hall. While social intercourse and good fellowship 
are frankly avowed objects, literary work has a hardly less important 
part in their activities. Though their rivalries occasionally lead to 
a partisanship in the selection of class officers, as foolish as it is unfor- 
tunate, it is believed they supply a valuable means for acquaintance 



BOWDOIN COLLEGE. 93 

and helpfulness between the upper and lower classes and tend to neu- 
tralize some of the bad effects of the unusually strong class feeling 
which has always prevailed at Bowdoin. The element of secrecy has 
not been in the past a means of hiding dissipation or unlawful prac- 
tices. On the other hand, society pride has occasionally been evoked 
as a restraining force in the case of those viciously inclined. 

RELIGIOUS HISTORY. 

At the close of the last century and the opening of the present was 
a period of general religious depression. At Bowdoin it is not known 
that any student during President McKeen's administration had made 
a public profession of religion. Religious activity existed among the 
teachers, not among the students. For a longer period than would 
be supposed, in view of earnest efforts from the very first, this con- 
tinued the case under President Appleton. A theological society with 
a membership of 17 was organized as early as 1808, but its meetings 
were apparently given to the discussion of doctrinal and ethical ques- 
tions rather than to the promotion of Christian experience. Though 
its influence for practical piety was not manifest at the time, the 
results of the trend of thought it inculcated are happily exhibited in 
the fact that in after life 9 of these 17 became 'earnest Christians. 
This society maintained its organization until 1850, at times in face 
of opposition and with long periods of little or no activity. It col- 
lected a library of several hundred volumes, which was incorporated 
in that of the college. Its discontinuance as a society was due to the 
increase of other student organizations rather than to any special or 
prolonged lack of interest in the subjects to which its discussions 
were devoted. 

In 1812 two men of earnest and aggressive piety, Frederic South- 
gate, tutor, and James Cargill, student, were the means of establishing 
meetings for prayer and the promotion of personal righteousness 
among the students, which have since been maintained without inter- 
ruption. An organization formed 3 years later and known as the 
praying circle was the agency through which these activities were 
conducted. Its constitution, though several times revised, has always 
set forth as the object of the association "mutual edification of its 
members, the promotion of vital godliness in the college, and prayer 
for the universal spread of the gospel. ' ; Membership has been open 
to those and only those who offer "charitable evidence of being real 
Christians" and give "assent to the fundamental doctrines of the 
gospel." Its meetings have been held twice a week, one on the Sab- 
bath, more formal in its character, and one on a week day evening 
conducted and attended as a rule by undergraduates only. Despite 
the presence on its rolls from time to time of names of unworthy mem- 
bers, the personal religious work done by it has been very great. Its 
membership has varied in different years from one-tenth to one-half 

\ 



94 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

of the student body. The year following its formation there was 
special religious interest in connection with a revival in the town, and 
in several subsequent years, notably in 1826, 1831, 1834, 1862, and 
1 888, large accessions have been made to the number of professing 
Christians in the college. 

In 1882 it seemed best to members of the praying circle to dis- 
continue their union under that name and to form a Young Men's 
Christian Association. They would thus bring themselves into con- 
nection with similar societies in other colleges, and reap the benefits 
of the supervision given by the State and national associations of this 
well-known body to Christian work among young men. The provision 
for associate members it was believed would enlist many of right 
moral purposes but without a conscious development of religious life. 
The association has a large and pleasant room on the lower floor of 
one of the dormitories, gives an annual reception to the Freshman 
class, and carries on by a series of committees various Christian activi- 
ties. An annual address by some prominent clergyman is delivered 
before it on one of the Sabbaths early in the college year. ' Its mem- 
bers are kept in touch with methods of. Christian work by their dele- 
gates to State and national conventions and by several who have 
spent the summer months at Mr. Moody's school for religious workers. 

Morning and evening prayers, the former occurring at 6 or 7 o'clock 
in the morning, the latter at sunset, were maintained at Bowdoin 
until ,1872. At that time evening prayers were discontinued except 
on Sundays and a more convenient hour selected for the morning 
service, which is now omitted on the Sabbath. Attendance at prayers 
and at one regular church service on Sunday is compulsory. The 
majority of the students attend the Congregational Church, where 
special seats are provided them. Three successive pastors of this 
church have been warmly interested in the student body and have 
extended their pastoral labors among them as far as opportunity per- 
mitted. Of late years singing under the leadership of an organist 
and choir has become a regular part of the daily chapel service, and 
a brief address by the president a popular feature of that on Sunday 
afternoon. It is the aim of the college to maintain a Christian rather 
than a sectarian spirit in its religious exercises. The best indication 
of its success lies in the fact that both the Protestant denominations 
and the Roman Catholic church are represented among its students. 



Chapter V. 

COLBY COLLEGE. 
By Edward W. Hall. 



Colby College originated with the Baptist churches of the district 
of Maine. Bowdoinham Association, the oldest Baptist organization 
of the kind in the State, began the work at its annual meeting held at 
Livermore, September 26 and 27, 1810. In its minutes of that session 
is found the following record: 

8. It being in contemplation to establish an institution in the district of Maine 
for the purpose of promoting literary and theological knowledge, Brethren Blood, 
Boardman, Merrill, Titcomb, and Tripp were appointed a committee to take into 
consideration the propriety of petitioning the general court for incorporation, etc. 

This action led to the appointment of another committee, as recorded 
in the same minutes : 

The committee appointed to consider the propriety of petitioning the general 
court relative to the establishment of the literary and theological institution, 
suggested to the association the propriety of appointing a committee to digest the 
subject systematically, in connection with brethren from the Lincoln Association,. 
and report thereon at the next annual meeting. Elders Blood, Low, and Board- 
man were chosen for the above purpose. 

The Lincoln Association of Baptist Churches passed the following 
vote at its meeting in Woolwich, September 19, 1811: 

7. Voted to appoint the following brethren a committee to sign the petition to 
the legislature, viz: Daniel Merrill, Samuel Baker, Joseph Bailey, Samuel Stin- 
son, Hezekiah Prince, and Benja. Burton. 

The Cumberland Association also, at its first session, held at North 
Yarmouth, October 2 and 3, 1811, had the same subject in considera- 
tion, as appears from the following record: 

13. Voted to appoint a committee of 7, in union with the Lincoln and the Bow- 
doinham associations, to sign a petition to the legislature of this Commonwealth 
for the incorporation of an institution in the district of Maine for the purpose of 
promoting literary and theological knowledge, viz: Elders Caleb Blood, Thomas 
Green, Sylvanus Boardman, Benjamin Titcomb, John Haynes, Ranson Norton, 
and Deacon Thomas Beck, and that Brother Blood lay the petition before the 
legislature. 

95 



96 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

Before the next annual meetings of these three bodies of Baptists 
occurred a petition had been prepared by the committees and pre- 
sented to the senate of Massachusetts. On the 5th of June, 1812, this 
petition had its first reading, and was referred to a committee. A cer- 
tified copy of this interesting document reads as follows : 

PETITION. 

lo the honorable senate and honorable house of representatives in general court 

assembled: 

Your petitioners humbly show that whereas the encouragement of arts and 
sciences and all good literature tends to the honor of God, the advantage of the 
Christian religion, and the great benefit of this and of the other United States of 
America; and whereas wisdom and knowledge, as well as virtue, diffused gener- 
ally among the body of the people, being necessary for the preservation of their 
rights and liberties, and as these depend on spreading the opportunities and 
advantages of education in the various parts of the country and among the dif- 
ferent orders of the people, we believe it to be, as the constitution of our State 
says it shall be, the duty of legislators and magistrates in all future periods of 
this Commonwealth to cherish the interests of literature and sciences, and all 
seminaries of them,, and encourage public institutions. 

Your petitioners beg leave further to show that whereas Harvard College, in 
Cambridge, as well as the other colleges and seminaries in this State, have been 
liberally endowed, either by the appropriation of public land, or otherwise, by 
grants of the general court, and have been committed to the more particular 
direction and management of that specific part of the community denominated 
Congregationalists; and 

Whereas we have sustained a part, and not an inconsiderable part, of those 
appropriations without having any particular share in the oversight and direction 
of such appropriations ever assigned, by authority, to that part of the commu- 
nity denominated Baptists, we therefore consider and are firmly persuaded that 
the general court would do no injustice to any section of the Commonwealth, but 
would render more equal justice to the different sections, and largely promote 
the best interests of the State generally, by kindly receiving and favorably 
answering the petition to which we solicit the attention of your honorable body. 

Your petitioners also beg leave to show further that there are belonging to the 
regular Baptist churches at least between 6,000 and 7,000 members in the district 
of Maine, and large congregations in the same sentiment, so that the Baptists 
are undoubtedly more numerous in this district than any other denomination, if 
not than all others. Notwithstanding our numbers are so large, and daily 
increasing, yet we have no seminary over which we have any controul. It is our 
judgment that it would be for the furtherance of the Gospel and the general good 
that a seminary' should be founded in which some of our religious young men 
might be educated under the particular inspection of able men of the same senti- 
ments. God having put into our hearts a strong desire that such an event might 
be amicably and speedily accomplished, your petitioners humbly pray your hon- 
orable body to take their request into your wise and benevolent consideration, 
and grant them for the furtherance of their object a tract of good land, and 
cause it to be located as nighly in the center of the district and as conveniently 
situated as your wisdom may find convenient, for it is contemplated, should it 
be deemed advisable by the trustees, that the seminary be in the very tract 
which your honorable body may see fit to grant for its encouragement. 



COLBY COLLEGE. 97 

Your petitioners further pray that your honorable body will cause the over- 
seers and trustees of the proposed seminary to be appointed with the powers and 
privileges which in such cases are by law made and provided. 
And as in duty bound will ever pray. 

Daniel Merrill, 
In behalf and by the direction of the Lincoln Association, 

containing 48 associate churches. 
Robert Low, 
In behalf and by the direction of the Bowdoinham Association, 

containing 28 associate churches. 
, Sylvanus Boardman, 

Thomas Green, 
Caleb Blood, 
In behalf and by the direction of the Cumberland Association, 

containing 24 associated churches. 

The efforts of Rev. Caleb Blood to secure a charter from the legis- 
lature of 1812 having failed, Rev. Daniel Merrill, of Sedgwick, 
undertook the work in January, 1813. His attempt was successful. 

The senate committee, of which Lion. John Phillips was chairman, 
granted leave to bring in a bill, and so reported on the 19th of Feb- 
ruary, 1813. A bill was accordingly introduced, which came back 
from the committee to which it was referred with the recommenda- 
tion "that the third and seventh sections thereof be stricken out; 
also that the word ' fellows ' be erased throughout the bill. " A week 
later the bill was passed and approved in this form : 

AN ACT To establish a literary institution in the district of Maine, within this 

Commonwealth . 

Sec. 1. Be it enacted by the senate and house of representatives in general court 
assembled, and by the authority of the same, That there be erected and established 
in the district of Maine, in the township hereafter mentioned, a literary institu- 
tion, for the purpose of educating youth, to be called and known by the name of 
The Maine Literary and Theological Institution, to be under the government and 
regulation of a body politic, as in this act is hereafter described. 

Sec. 2. Be it further enacted, That Daniel Merrill, Caleb Blood, Sylvanus Board- 
man, Thomas Green, Robert Low, Benjamin Titcomb, Thomas Francis, Hanson 
Norton, Daniel McMasters, Hon. James Campbell, Samuel Stinson, John Hovey, 
David Nelson, Alford Richardson, John Haynes, Samuel Baker, Joseph Bailey, 
Phineas Pilsbury, Hezekiah Prince, Moses Dennitt, and John Neal, together with 
the President and treasurer of the said institution for the time being, to be chosen 
as in this act is hereafter directed, be, and hereby are, erected a body politic and 
corporate, by the name of the President and Trustees of the Maine Literary and 
Theological Institution; and that they and their successors, and such others as 
shall be duly elected members of the said corporation, shall be and remain a body 
politic and corporate, by that name forever. 

Sec. 3. Be it further enacted, That for the more orderly conducting the business 
of the said corporation, the president and trustees shall have full power and 
authority, from time to time as they shall determine, to elect a vice-president, 
treasurer, and secretary of said corporation, and to declare the tenure and duties 
of their respective offices, and also to remove any trustee from the said corpora- 

10324— No. 3—03 7 



98 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

tion when in their judgment he shall be rendered incapable by age or otherways 
of discharging the duties of his office, and to fill up all vacancies in the said corpo- 
ration by electing such persons for trustees as they shall judge best: Provided, 
nevertheless, That the number of the said corporation, including the president of 
the said institution and the treasurer for the time being, shall never be greater 
Than thirty-one nor less than twenty-one. 

Sec. 4. Be it further enacted. That the said corporation may have one common 
seal, which they may change, break, or renew, at their pleasure; and that all deeds 
signed and delivered by the treasurer, and sealed with their seal, by the order of 
the corporation, shall, when made in their corporate name, be considered in law 
as the deed of the said corporation; and that the said corporation may sue and be 
sued, in all actions real, personal, and mixed, and may prosecute and defend the 
same to final judgment and execution, by the name of the President and Corpora- 
tion of the Maine Literary and Theological Institution; and that the said corpo- 
ration shall be capable of having, holding, and taking in fee simple, or any less 
estate, by gift, grant, devise, or otherwise, any lands, tenements, or other estates, 
real or personal: Provided, nevertheless, That the annual clear income of the same 
shall not exceed the sum of thirty thousand dollars. 

Sec. 5. Be it further enacted, That the said corporation shall have full power 
and authority to determine at what times and places their meetings shall be 
holden, and on the manner of notifying the trustees to convene at such meet- 
ings, and also from time to time to elect a president and treasurer of said institu- 
tion and such professors, tutors, instructors, and other officers of the said insti- 
tution as they shall judge most for the interest thereof, and to determine the 
duties, salaries, emoluments, and tenures of their several offices aforesaid; the 
said president, for the time being when elected and inducted into his office, to be 
ex officio president of the corporation; and the said corporation are further 
empowered to purchase, or erect, and keep in repair such houses and other build- 
ings as they shall judge necessary for the said institution, and also to make and 
ordain, as occasion may ( require, reasonable rules, orders, and by-laws not repug- 
nant to the laws of this Commonwealth, with reasonable penalties for the good 
government of said institution, and also to determine and prescribe the mode of 
ascertaining the qualifications of the students requisite to their admission: Pro- 
vided, nevertheless, That no corporate business shall be transacted at any meeting 
unless thirteen at least of the corporation are present. 

Sec. 6. Be it further enacted, That the clear rents, issues, and profits of all the 
estate, real and personal, of which the said corporation shall be seized or possessed, 
shall be appropriated to the endowment of the said institution, in such manner as 
shall most effectually promote virtue and piety and a knowledge of such of the 
languages and of the liberal arts and sciences as shall be hereafter directed from 
time to time by the said corporation. 

Sec. 7. Be it further enacted, That the Hon. John Woodman, esq., be, and he 
is hereby, authorized and empowered to fix the time and place for holding the first 
meeting of the said corporation, of which he shall give notice by an advertisement 
in a Portland, and one other Eastern newspaper, at least fourteen days previous 
to the time of said meeting. 

Sec. 8. Be it further enacted, That the treasurer of said corporation shall, before 
he enters upon the execution of the duties of his office, give bonds to the said cor- 
poration, in such sums and with such sureties as they shall approve of, condi- 
tioned for the faithful discharge of the said office and for rendering a just and 
true account of his doings therein when required; and that all the money, securi- 
ties, and other property of the said corporation, together with all the books in 
which his accounts and proceedings as treasurer were entered and kept that shall 



COLBY COLLEGE. 99 

be in his hands at the expiration of his office, shall, upon demand made upon him, 
his executors or administrators, be paid and delivered over to his successor in that 
office, and all moneys recovered by virtue of any suit at law upon such bond shall 
be paid over to the corporation aforesaid, and subjected to the appropriation 
above directed in this act. 

Sec. 9. Be it further enacted, That the legislature of this Commonwealth may 
grant any further powers to, or alter, limit, annul, or restrain any of the powers 
by this act vested in, the said corporation as shall be judged necessary to promote 
the best interests of the said institution; and the said corporation shall be holclen 
to render an account to the legislature, whenever they shall see fit to require it, 
of all their proceedings and the manner of disposing of the funds of said institu- 
tion. 

Sec. 10. Be it further enacted, That there be, and hereby is, granted a town- 
ship of land six miles square, to be laid out and assigned from any of the unap- 
propriated lands belonging to this Commonwealth in the district of Maine, under 
the same restrictions, reservations, and limitations as other grants for similar 
purposes are usually made; the same to be vested in the corporation of said insti- 
tution, and their successors forever, for the use, benefit, and purpose of support- 
ing said institution, to be by them holden in their corporate capacity, with the power 
and capacity to settle, divide, and manage the same tract of land or township, or 
any part thereof, or to sell, convey, or dispose of the same, for settlement only, 
and to no one person a larger quantity than one thousand acres, in such way and 
manner, as shall best promote the welfare of said institution; the same to be laid 
out under the direction of the committee for the sale of eastern lands, and a plan 
thereof returned to the secretary's office within three years after the expiration of 
the present war with Great Britain. 

Approved by the governor, February 27, 1813. 

The name "Literary and Theological Institution" was at that time 
a favorite designation attached to many schools of a high order in 
which collegiate and theological classes were united. That a demand 
for an educated Baptist ministry existed among the churches of that 
denomination throughout the sparsely settled district of Maine is 
abundantly proved by the course taken by them to secure this charter. 
The persons named as corporators were all men of prominence in 
Maine Baptist churches. Rev. Daniel Merrill, who is recognized as 
the prime mover in the enterprise, had been educated for the Congre- 
gationalist ministry, but was then the able and beloved pastor of the 
Baptist Church in Sedgwick; Rev. Caleb Blood was pastor of the 
Federal Street Baptist Church in Portland, Rev. Sylvanus Board- 
man pastor of the Baptist Church at North Yarmouth, Rev. Thomas 
Green had formerly been a pastor of the same church and was still 
residing there, Rev. Robert Low was pastor of the Baptist Church in 
Reaclfield; Rev. Benjamin Titcomb, of the Baptist Church in Bruns- 
wick; Rev. Thomas Francis, of the Baptist Church in Leeds; Rev. 
Ranson Norton, of the Second Baptist Church in Livermore; Rev. 
Daniel McMasters, of the Baptist Church in Sullivan ; Rev. Samuel 
Stinson, of the Baptist Church in Woolwich; Rev. John Haynes, of 
the First Baptist Church in Livermore ; Rev. Samuel Baker, associate 
pastor of the Baptist Church in Thomaston; Rev. Joseph Bailey, 



100 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

pastor oi' the Baptist Church of Ballstown, now Whitefield, and Rev. 
Phineas Pilsbury, pastor of the Baptist Church in Nobleboro. Of 
the other corporators, Alford Richardson was a prominent member of 
the Federal Street Baptist Church, of Portland; John Neal, of the 
Second Baptist Church of Litchfield ; Moses Dennitt, of the Second 
Baptist Church in Bowdoin; John Hovey, of the Baptist Church in 
Mount Vernon; David Nelson, of the Baptist Church in New Glouces- 
ter; the Hon. James Campbell, a prominent member of the First Baptist 
Church in Cherryfield, and Hezekiah Prince, a member of the Baptist 
Church in Thomaston. A willingness on the part of the legislature 
to accede to their request is sufficient ly evident from the promptness 
with which the charter was granted. 

The war Avith England was, no doubt, more prominent in the minds 
of most men at this time than the subject of education. The trustees, 
however, effected an organization, and, with the Rev. Sylvanus Board- 
man as president and Rev. Otis Briggs secretary, entered upon pre- 
liminary work. 

In January, 1815, the following petition was laid before the general 
court : 

The undersigned, members of the Maine Literary and Theological Institution, 
have made the necessary inquiry in pursuance of the duty which devolved upon 
them, and have with great unanimity determined that township numbered three, 
on the west side of Penobscot River, in the vicinity of a settled country, is the best 
selection, in their opinion, that can be made from the unlocated lands of the 
Commonwealth for the establishment of the institution. 

As this township is among those which have been very wisely reserved by the 
Government for important public purposes, we presume it is only necessary for 
us to state this fact in order to secure the passage of a resolution authorizing the 
agents for the sale of eastern lands to deed, agreeably to the request of your peti- 
tioners, the township above designated in conformity to the grant of a former 
legislature. 

The undersigned members of the institution consider it their duty to state that 
this institution was established at the request and in compliance with a petition 
from those persons denominated Baptists within this Commonwealth; and their 
object was, and now is, to have an institution at which their children may be edu- 
cated, over which they may have some influence and control. At the present time 
we believe it may be truly asserted that not a single individual denominated a 
Baptist is now a member of the corporation of either of the colleges within the 
Commonwealth, and from that within this district they have been very pointedly 
excluded. As the people denominated Baptists may be considered as comprising 
nearly one-third of the population of the State, they will not, we conclude, be con- 
sidered as asking too much when they request from the legislature about the same 
aid that has been afforded to Williamstown and Bowdoin colleges as relates to grants 
of land. And in order that tuition may immediately commence, a measure so 
desirable at this time, the undersigned, we presume, have only to request from 
the present legislature their proportion of the tax upon the banks, agreeably to 
the distribution made by the last legislature to the other colleges of this State, 
and this desirable object will be immediately accomplished. 

The members of the Maine Literary and Theological Institution having stated, 



COLBY COLLEGE. 101 

as they believe, correctly their claims upon the public in favor of their institution, 
they rely on the justice,- the wisdom, and impartiality of the legislature to afford 
them the aid that has been so liberally extended to the other institutions within 
this Commonwealth, and as in duty bound will ever pray. 

Moses Dennitt. Ebenr. Delano. 

Cyrus Hamlin. Ranson Norton. 

John Tripp. John Neal. 

Robert Low. John Hovey. 

Alford Richardson. David Nelson. 

Sylvanus Boardman. Joseph Bailey. 

Samuel Stinson. John Haynes. 

Thos. Francis. 

t The petitioners were successful in obtaining by resolve, dated Feb- 
ruary 15, 1815, the assignment of the desired township, which had 
originally been purchased of the Indians and embraced the territory 
now constituting the towns of Alton and Argyle. It yielded an excel- 
lent growth of timber, and the institution was kept alive for many 
years by the revenue derived from it. The request for a proportionate 
part of the bank tax was not granted. Although Massachusetts had 
given to Bowdoin College no less than eight townships of land and 
$18,000 in money, its benefactions to the Baptist college were limited 
to this single township. 

The original design of the founders appears to have been to estab- 
lish the institution upon the very township granted by the State. 
Reflection must have convinced them of the folly of locating a college 
in a region destitute of common schools, if not of inhabitants. Accord- 
ingly we find the legislature was next petitioned to authorize a change 
in this original plan, An additional act, passed June 15, 1816, empow- 
ered the institution "to locate and establish their building in any 
town within the counties of Kennebec or Somerset." Several towns 
within these counties were desirous of obtaining the location of the 
institution. At a meeting of the corporation in October, 1817, they 
appointed a committee "to visit those towns which had used their 
efforts and given encouragement to have the institution located with 
them, viz, Farmington, Bloomneld (now Skowhegan), and Waterville 
and report at the next meeting." This committee reported in favor 
of Bloomfield as the site, but for some reason not fully explained in 
the records the trustees voted, at a meeting held in Bath October 1, 
1817, to fix the location at Waterville. Possibly this action may have 
have been in consequence of larger sums having been pledged by 
Waterville than by the other town. The town, as a corporation, 
pledged, but on account of legal objections never paid, $3,000, while 
the inhabitants of the town and vicinity subscribed $2,000 for the bene- 
fit of the institution in case it was established at Waterville. At the 
same meeting a committee was appointed to purchase a plot of ground 
whereon to erect the buildings. As the result of this action the 



10*2 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

so-called Vaughan lot, 86 rods wide, and extending from the Kennebec 
to the Emerson stream, containing 179 acres, was purchased the fol- 
lowing year of R. IT. Gardiner, for the sum of $1,797.50. The south 
line of this lot was not far from where the memorial hall now stands. 
]>ut afterwards the college purchased of Professor Chapin for the sum 
of $2,500 the Professor Briggs estate, lying immediately south of the 
original purchase, and extending southerly to the middle point of 
lot No. 100 of the Kennebec purchase and running on that line, which 
is coincident with the south line of the lot on which the president's 
house stands, from the Kennebec River nearly to the Emerson stream. a 

A second attempt to obtain aid from the Massachusetts legislature 
was made in 1818. At the June session a petition was presented bj 7 
the trustees, upon which a bill was reported granting four additional 
townships of land and $3,000 annually. This bill was referred to the 
next session of the legislature. At that session a number of printed 
petitions, signed by citizens in several towns in Maine and Massachu- 
setts, were offered, urging the passage of the bill. Objections were 
made to the language of these petitions as too dictatorial, and as 
demanding, rather than requesting, the patronage and support of the 
legislature. So great was the opposition aroused that Gen. Alforcl 
Richardson, a member of the legislature and one of the trustees, felt 
called upon to assert, what he no doubt believed to be the fact, that 
"the printed petitions did not originate in any act of the corporation, 
and that they were got up without its knowledge and preferred with- 
out its consent." b 

Hon. William King, afterwards governor of Maine, another mem- 
ber of the trustees, and deputed by them to bring before the legislature 
the applications for aid, pronounced General Richardson's statement 
incorrect and maintained the integrity of the petitions. The closing- 
paragraph of the petitions reads : 

Your petitioners, in conclusion, can not refrain from stating what is believed 
to be a fact, that neither a professed Baptist or Methodist is now to be found 
among the instructors at Harvard, Williams, or Bowdoin College. Considering 
ourselves pointedly excluded from the government of these institutions, and that 
the religious instruction afforded is of a kind not the most correct, etc. 

A comparison of this language with that of the petition presented 
in January, 1815, shows a remarkable similarity or expression and 
suggests that both had a common origin. The defeat of the bill, by a 
vote of 13 to 10, was a serious disaster to the institution and ma} T be 
attributed to this quarrel between two members of its otherwise har- 
monious board of trustees. It was deemed necessary to appoint a 

a J. T. Champlin, historical address at the fiftieth anniversary of Colby Uni- 
versity, August 2, 1870. 

& A vindication of the character of Alf ord Richardson against the aspersions of 
Governor King. Portland, 1822, p. 41. 



COLBY COLLEGE. 103 

special committee of the trustees to adjust the matter, which they did 
by a report to the board in 1820, explaining that the circular petitions 
were approved in conference and not by a formal resolve, and hence 
were not recorded. This circumstance, trivial in itself, was the occa- 
sion of conflicting views between the two men, who otherwise might 
have carried the measure through the legislature and have saved the 
institution many years of poverty and sacrifice. 

Rev. Jeremiah Chaplin, of Dan vers, Mass. , was chosen professor of 
theology in February, 1818, and Rev. Irah Chase, of Westford, Vt., 
professor of languages. Both gentlemen at first declined the appoint- 
ment, but finally Mr. Chaplin, who had charge of the theological stu- 
dents then aided by the Massachusetts Baptist Education Society, 
decided to accept and to instruct his pupils under the auspices of the 
new institution. With his wife and students he accordingly took 
passage in June, 1818, at Beverly, Mass. , on board the sloop Hero, 
which brought the little company as far as Augusta. a 

The remaining 20 miles to Waterville were accomplished in a long- 
boat, which was provided with sails and a cabin, and was at that time 
the easiest mode of conveyance between the two towns. Their arrival 
was welcomed by a body of citizens, and an address by Timothy Bou- 
telle, esq. 

The new seminary was opened and instruction by Professor Chap- 
lin commenced July 6, 1818, in a house then standing where the pres- 
ent Elmwood Hotel is situated. In May following there were 17 
students in the theological department. Tuition was fixed at $4 a 
quarter, the price of board was $1 a week, and wood sold in the win- 
ter for $1.50 per cord. 

In an address to the public dated May 21, 1819, it is stated that the 
trustees have undertaken to erect two buildings, one for the accom- 
modation of the students and one for the instructors. To meet the 
expense incurred it was proposed to sell part of their township and 
part of the lot already purchased in Waterville with the money paid 
by citizens of that place, and which amounted to about $1,800. There 
was also due on this subscription at the above date about $1,200. 6 

In the same address occurs the following: 

This seminary, though under the direction principally of one denomination, is 
nevertheless open to persons of every religious sect. From the literary depart- 
ment no one will be debarred who maintains a decent moral character; nor will 
any one be debarred from the theological department (to whatever denomination 
of Christians he be attached) who is able to give satisfactory evidence of his 
piety and of his possessing gifts adapted to the gospel ministry. 

This official statement of the trustees, promulgated in the opening 
3^ear of the institution, indicates the liberal and tolerant spirit of the 



«MSS. Journal of Mrs. Chaplin dated July 20, 1818. 

& Maine Literary and Theological Institution. (Origin, progress, design, and 
present state of the Institution.) Address to the public. 1819. 8vo., pp. 7. 



104 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

founders of Colby College. Another statement may be quoted to 
show that the school was established as a college as well as theological 

seminary: 

The design of the trustees in founding this seminary is not limited to such stu- 
dents as have the gospel ministry in view, but extends to those who are desirous 
of engaging in any of the learned professions. It has, accordingly, a literary as 
well as a theological department. 

The address also incidentally informs us that? "all the students in 
this seminary at' present have the gospel ministry in view and are 
hopefully pious. " 

Mr. Alva Woods, then a student at Andover, was chosen tutor in 
May, 1819, but preferred to continue his theological studies. Rev. 
Avery Briggs, a graduate of Brown University, was elected professor 
of languages, and the literary department went into operation under 
his direction early in October, 1819, with about 25 students. 

The first session of the Maine legislature was held at Portland, May 
21, 1820. During that session two enactments were passed affecting 
the new college. The first was an act passed June 19, 1820, enlarg- 
ing its powers and authorizing the president and trustees "to confer 
such degrees as are usually conferred by universities established for 
the education of youth: Provided, That the said corporation shall 
confer no degrees other than those of bachelor of arts until after the 
first day of January, which will be in the year of our Lord eighteen 
hundred and thirty." 

In order to perpetuate the tolerant spirit already shown by the trus- 
tees and possibly to avoid a condition of things observed elsewhere, 
the act also provided that ' ' the said corporation shall not make or have 
any rule or by-law requiring that any member of the trustees shall be 
of any particular religious denomination: Provided, That no student 
belonging, or who may hereafter belong, to said institution, sustain- 
ing a fair moral character, shall be deprived of any privileges of said 
institution or be subjected to the forfeiture of any aid which has been 
granted by said institution for the purpose of enabling him to prose- 
cute his studies, or be denied admission to said institution on the 
ground that his interpretations of the Scriptures differ from those 
which are contained in the articles of faith adopted or to be adopted 
by said institution." It may be remarked that these two provisions 
have been faithfully observed in the subsequent histoiy of the college, 
though it has never adopted any articles of faith. 

A second act, passed June 28, 1820, granted to the Maine Literary 
and Theological Institution the sum of $1,000 annually from the tax 
upon certain banks for seven years from February 14, 1821. A similar 
grant of $3,000 annually was also made to Bowdoin College, and it was 
expressly stipulated ' ' that at least one-fourth part of the sums to be 
received by said college and said literary and theological institution 
shall be appropriated for and toward the partial or total reduction of 



COLBY COLLEGE. 105 

the tuition fees of such students, not exceeding one-half the number 
of any class, who may apply therefor, according to the judgment of 
the said corporations, respectively." 

Thus one-quarter of the gift was made to the students, and did not 
increase the revenue of the institution. In the few grants of money 
afterwards made to the college by the State this principle was gen- 
erally followed. The formative period of Colby College closes with 
the following act, which passed the legislature of Maine February 5, 
1821: 

Be it enacted by the senate and house of representatives in legislature assembled, 
That from and after the passing of this act the name of the said Maine Literary 
and Theological Institution shall cease, and the same shall henceforth be called 
and known by the name of Waterville College, any law to the contrary notwith- 
standing. And nothing in this act contained shall be construed to impair or annul 
any of the rights, powers, or privileges of the said corporation. 

WATERVILLE COLLEGE. 

At .the annual meeting of the board in August, 1821, Rev. Daniel 
H. Barnes, an eminent teacher of science in New York, was chosen 
president of the college. It was not expected, as appears from a state- 
ment in an address to the public dated January 11, 1822, that he 
would remove to Waterville until some addition had been made to the 
funds of the college. a Indeed, the further statement that Mr. Barnes 
" can not be obtained unless a considerable addition be made to the 
resources of the college," suggests the reason why the presidency was 
declined and that office remained vacant until the board met in May, 
1822. Subscriptions to the amount of $10,000 had then been secured, 
of which $7,000 only had been paid. 

PRESIDENCY OF REV. JEREMIAH CHAPLIN, D. D. 

With tardy wisdom the trustees now made unanimous choice of 
Professor Chaplin for the first president of the college, fixing his sal- 
ary at $800 and the rent of the house occupied by him. The teach- 
ing force was increased in August, 1822, by the election of Rev. Stephen 
Chapin to the professorship of theology. The number of students in 
college at this time was 17, besides 5 in the theological school and 8 
in the recently established Latin school, which was held in the college 
building. 

The first commencement occurred August 21, 1822, and attracted a 
large concourse of people from towns in the vicinity of Waterville. 
The procession, which continues to be a prominent feature of com- 
mencement day, was on this occasion led by a band of music and a 
company of militia. 

« Waterville College: Origin, Progress, and Present State of the College; Address 
to the Public. 8vo. , pp. 8. 



106 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

The degree of bachelor of arts was conferred on a graduating class 
o( two members, George Dana Boardman and Ephraim Tripp, and 
the honorary degree of master of arts on Rev. Samuel Wait, of George- 
town, D. C. 31 r. Boardman was at the same time appointed tutor, in 
which capacity lie served the college one year, when lie resigned to 
become the "Apostle to the Karens," and was succeeded by Mr. Tripp. 

Two buildings had already been erected on the college lot after cut- 
ting away its dense growth of trees. A dwelling house for the presi- 
dent had been completed in 1819, on the site now occupied by Memo- 
rial Hall. In 1821 the South College, a brick dormitory, 80 by 40 feet 
and four stories high, was built and 18 rooms furnished, besides fitting 
up a portion of it for a chapel. The erection of a second dormitory 
of the same dimensions, known as the North College and afterwards 
as Chaplin Hall, was authorized in Ma}% 1822. The cost of the mason 
work of this building was $3,000. Of both dormitories Mr. Peter 
Getchell, mason, and Mr. Lemuel Dunbar, carpenter, were the builders. 

The expenses of the students in 1822 are given as follows: Tuition, 
$16; rent of a room, $12 per year; board, $1.34 a week if paid to the 
steward in advance, but $1.42 if payment was deferred till the end of 
the term. The best hard wood could then be bought green in winter 
for $1.25 per cord. 

It is interesting to find in a second address to the public, issued by 
the trustees January 11, 1822, the confident expectation that Congress 
would extend to the Southern and Eastern States the same liberality 
toward the cause of education which had been shown by grants of 
public lands to some of the Western States for that purpose. The 
hope is expressed that from this source ' ' Maine will in a few years 
find herself in possession of funds sufficient for the support of both 
her colleges without appropriating to that object any considerable 
part of the moneys raised within the State. " 

In 1827 Professor Briggs was transferred to the chair of mathemat- 
ics and natural philosophy. A professorship of rhetoric and Hebrew 
was established in 1831, to which Rev. Calvin Newton was elected. 
John O'Brien Chaplin, class of 1825, son of the president, had charge 
of the Latin school from 1826 to 1828, when he was appointed tutor 
and librarian. In 1832 he was made professor of Latin and English. 
This professorship continued only one year. 

The degree of doctor of medicine was conferred by the college in 
the years 1830, 1831, and 1832 on 55 medical students who had com- 
pleted the medical course at the Clinical School of Medicine, then 
recently established at Woodstock, Yt. The names of the medical 
faculty and of their students are printed in the college catalogues of 
that period, and the graduates are enrolled in the triennial of 1834. 
Two members of the Waterville faculty and two examiners appointed 
by the Vermont Medical Society attended the examinations at Wood- 
stock, and the degrees were conferred on their recommendation. The 



COLBY COLLEGE. 107 

practice was then a common one during the infancy of several medi- 
cal colleges. In 1833 the medical school was empowered to confer its 
own degrees. 

The theological department was speedily overshadowed by the lit- 
erary course after the "institution" became a college. The first tri- 
ennial, issued in 1825, gives the names of the graduates in theology. 
These are 15 in all, beginning with 3 names in 1820 and ending with 
5 in 1825. Though President Chaplin was, for the second time, pro- 
fessor of theology from July, 1829, to July, 1832, when theological in- 
struction must have ceased, no record of any other students in this 
department appears in subsequent triennials. 

Commenting upon this exclusion of the theological department, 
President Champlin says: 

I know not under whose counsels this was done, but it has always seemed to 
me a great mistake. Within those few years a good many of the original board 
had fallen out and new members been introduced, and quite likely the ambition 
of having an institution of a higher grade may have blinded the eyes of those who 
remained to its consequences. The result was hastened also, undoubtedly, by the 
fear that Brown University would be lost to the denomination through the defec- 
tion of President Messer. But however brought about, when its effects became 
apparent there was great dissatisfaction in a large portion of the denomination 
throughout the State, which some years later culminated in the establishment of 
an ephemeral theological school at Thomaston, under the management of Prof. 
Calvin Newton. One consequence of ttiis disaffection was a general falling off 
of interest in the institution among its natural friends, and a certain coldness and 
indifference toward it, from which it has not fully recovered to the present day. 
Had the institution retained its original and more popular form till the affections 
of the denomination had crystallized around it, and the denomination had withal 
grown up so as to demand a college, I can but think that its history would have 
been different. « 

The history of other similar "institutions" of twofold purpose, 
several of which came into existence at this period, shows, however, 
that they either abandoned one of the departments or in the attempt 
to build up both simultaneously met with disastrous failure. The 
opening of the Newton Theological Institution in November, 1825, 
doubtless affected the attendance at Waterville. 

President Chaplin continued in the presidency of the college eleven 
years, resigning in 1833, after thirteen years of devoted service. He 
then became pastor of a church in Rowley, Mass., his native place, 
and afterwards of a church in Willington, Conn. He died at Hamil- 
ton, N. Y., May 7, 1841. , 

The personal appearance of President Chaplin is said to have been 
such as to impress the observer with the idea of something unusual 
in his character. "Though there was an absence of gracefulness, yet 
there was something in his tall, spare frame, broad shoulders, and 

o Historical Discourse, 50th Anniversary, by J. T. Champlin, August 2, 1870, 
p. 16. 



108 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

bony face, in his low but intellectually developed forehead, small, 
black, mild, but piercing eyes, which rarely failed to arrest the atten- 
tion of a stranger. " a » 

As material monuments of his administration Dr. Chaplin left the 
college provided with 2 brick dormitories, 2 dwelling houses for col- 
lege officers, a large boarding house, a farm of 180 acres, 2 workshops, 
a good chemical and philosophical apparatus, obtained at a cost of 
61,500, and a library of about 2,000 volumes. It was chiefly by his 
personal efforts that all these were obtained. A brick building for the 
academy connected with the college was also erected by his efforts, 
and the pulpit of the Baptist church was for several years supplied 
by him without compensation. 5 

Unhappily there is reason to fear that Dr. Chaplin on his retirement 
carried with him a false impression as to the estimate which the public 
set upon his services, but the lapse of years has preserved only the 
highest praise of his self-denying, persistent, and heroic efforts, and 
no name in the history of the college will ever be held in greater ven- 
eration than that of its first president. 

At the annual meeting in August, 1841, the trustees passed resolu- 
tions "in grateful remembrance of the able, untiring, and successful 
labor of the late President Chaplin," and appointed Rev. A. Drink- 
water, Prof. George W. Keely, and Prof. Calvin Newton a committee 
"to devise some monumental memorial of Dr. Chaplin at Waterville." 
The committee had a memorial tablet prepared and placed on the wall 
in the rear of the president's desk in the old chapel in 1842, from 
which place it was transferred to the western wall of the new chapel 
in memorial hall. It is of dark marble, and bears the following 
inscription in gilded letters : 

JEREMIAE CHAPLIN. S. T. D. 

HVJVSCE ACAD. AVCTORI ET ANN. XI. PRAES. 

VIRO ACERR. INGENII PRISC. FIDEI ET SANCTIT. 

VERECVNDIAEQ. CHRIST. IN PROFANIS ACCVRATE 

IN SACRIS MIRIFICE VERSATO. P. SOC. 

A. MDCCCXLII. 

MANUAL-LABOR DEPARTMENT, 1830-1842. 

About 1825 an attempt was made in many institutions of higher 
education to combine manual and mental training, not without a view 
to the financial benefits that were expected to result to the students 
as well as to the seminaries. A department of manual labor was in 
full operation at the Maine Weslej^an Seminary when the trustees of 
Waterville College, in August, 1827, voted "that it is expedient to 

a Eulogy on Rev. Jeremiah Chaplin, D. D., delivered at Waterville August 6, 
1843, by R. E. Pattison, p. 17. 

& Discourse at Hamilton Literary and Theological Institution on the death of 
Rev. Jeremiah Chaplin, D. D., by N. Kendrick, June 6, 1841. 



COLBY COLLEGE. 109 

have a convenient mechanic's shop erected on the college lot, at which 
such students as are disposed may employ themselves a small portion 
of the day in such work as may yield them some profit. " 

Rev. Daniel Merrill, of Sedgwick, a zealous advocate of the meas- 
ure,' was appointed agent to solicit funds, and in 1830 the shop was 
built, chiefly by the hands of the students. Work was begun early in 
1831, under the charge of Mr. D. N. B. Coffin, of Sidney. A second 
and larger shop was erected by the students soon after. Three hours 
a day were assigned for labor, the work being made ready by the 
superintendent. The articles manufactured were chiefly doors, blinds, 
sashes, bedsteads, tables, chairs, and boxes. The organization of the 
work was such that each student had his special labor — sawing, plan- 
ing, mortising, grinding tools, etc. In 1832 the members of the 
department built the large boarding house, long known as the "Com- 
mons House," which then stood on the spot now occupied by Coburn 
Hall. A third shop was added soon after, and carriage making and 
painting attempted. In 1835, there being then no printer in Waterville, 
a printing office was started in one of the shops. It was supplied with 
a valuable press, the gift of a manufacturer, and placed in charge of 
Edgar H. Gray, class of 1838, who had learned the trade of printer. 
A variety of job work, the annual catalogues, and a 34-page catalogue 
of the library were issued from the " College Press." After the grad- 
uation of Mr. Gray, who became chaplain of the United States Senate 
in 1864, the press was sold and printing abandoned. Students were 
employed in 1836 in preparing the lumber and in mason work for the 
college chapel, now Champlin Hall, and for three professors' houses. 
Three shops were fully occupied at this time, the students earning 
from 50 cents to $2.50 per week. At the accession of Dr. Pattison to 
the presidency in 1836, it was found that several thousand dollars had 
been sunk in the manual-labor experiment. Mr. Henry Pierce, a 
skilled mechanic, was engaged as superintendent in August, 1836. 
The enterprise continuing to be unprofitable, Mr. Pierce the following 
year associated with himself Mr. J. B. Bradbury and rented the 
shops, paying the students for such work as they could do. For sev- 
eral years the college received a small revenue from the shops con- 
ducted in this manner. At the annual meeting in 1841 the trustees 
adopted the following report, presented bj r Hon. Judah McClellan : 

That while the workshop system was a novelty, and the public opinion warmly 
in its favor, many yonng men were drawn from, the industrial walks who 
attempted to work their way through college; and some succeeded, to their own 
advantage as well as that of the public. The workshops connected with this col- 
lege were probably at first of some advantage to the college in enticing students to 
come here, but not in any proportion to the heavy expense incurred by the college 
in building and maintaining them, and are now and for some time past have been 
a useless monument of misjudged expenditure. The committee deem it useless to 
think of again putting the shops in operation. They recommend the reference 



110 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

of the subject to the prudential committee, with power to sell, lease, or otherwise 
dispose of the workshops, including the tools, as they shall think most for the 
advantage of the college, but in no case to involve the college in any more expense 
in or about the concern. 

Accordingly, in the spring of 1842, the shops were discontinued and 
soon afterwards removed. 

The late Prof. C. E. Hamlin, to whose careful study of this labor 
movement the writer is largely indebted, declared that the financial 
failure of the manual-labor department could not fairly be attributed 
to incompetent management in any quarter. The want of success 
may, without doubt, be mainly referred to the fact that the larger 
number of the student workmen possessed little skill and produced 
inferior work. For such work there was no demand, and the reputa- 
tion of the college manufactures suffered. "But, on the other hand, 
ib attracted many students to the college and aided a class of young 
men most valuable to the world by reason of the qualities developed 
in their struggle to obtain an education. The list of laborers in the 
shops bears the names of many T of the most honored sons of the insti- 
tution; men of energj^, ability, and culture, including those of two 
college presidents. " ft 

PRESIDENCY OF REV. RTJFUS BABCOCK, D. D. 

In September, 1833, Rev. Rufus Babcock, jr., of Salem, Mass., was 
elected president. The condition of the general affairs of the college 
was in some respects critical. The college was in debt to the amount 
of $18,000, and a subscription, begun in the winter of 1832 by a liberal 
friend in Salem, Mass., and not payable until $10,000 should have 
been subscribed, was then only about two-thirds filled. It had no 
means to meet more than three-fifths of its current expenses, and its 
creditors were becoming uneasy. The resignation of Dr. Chaplin, 
and with him two of the professors, under circumstances full of peril 
to the college, added to the embarrassment of the situation. Many 
of its friends were almost disposed to abandon the enterprise. 

The sentiments expressed by Dr. Babcock in his inaugural address 
indicate a just appreciation of the needs of the college and suggest 
measures for improving its financial condition and enlarging its influ- 
ence. 6 It speaks well for the popularity and efficiency of the new 
president that the projected subscription was at once filled up, in 
spite of the financial crisis of 1834, and that the annual catalogue 
then for the first time recorded the names of over 100 students/ 



« Twelfth Annual Report of the Secretary of the Maine Board of Agriculture, 
1867, pp. 188-122. 

& The teacher's office: Inaugural address of Rev. Rufus Babcock, jr., president 
of Waterville College, July 29, 1834. 

<-' Triennial Baptist Register, 1836: Account of Waterville College (by President 
Babcock), p. 62. 



COLBY COLLEGE. Ill 

The trustees in 1836 authorized the erection of a brick edifice mid- 
way between the two dormitories, at an estimated expense of $6,000. 

This building, since remodeled and named "Champlin Hall," is 65 
by' 40 feet, and was built from the designs of Thomas U. Walter, after- 
wards the architect of the Capitol extension at Washington. The 
main room was a chapel, above which were the library and the philo- 
sophical apparatus and recitation room. The floor of the chapel was 
several feet above the ground, and a basement story was thus obtained 
by a slight excavation. Four recitation rooms were by this means 
provided, more convenient than healthful. The whole structure was 
surmounted by a square wooden tower, rising from the center of the 
roof and supporting a similar but more slender tower, in which was 
suspended the college bell. It was subsequently found that the walls 
were in danger of spreading under the weight placed upon them, and 
the upper section of the tower was removed. In the later modifica- 
tion of the building both tower and bell have disappeared. 

The value of the grounds and buildings at this period, together with 
the library and scientific apparatus, is placed at $50,000. The town- 
ship granted by Massachusetts had been entirely disposed of for the 
payment of the indebtedness of the college. 

Rev. John O. Choules, of New Bedford, Mass., a native of England, 
being about to revisit that country, was appointed an agent to solicit 
books for the library. His report, made at the annual meeting of the 
trustees in 1836, was received with favor. He secured from the Brit- 
ish Government a set of the folio volumes of the records commission 
and the publications of the Royal Observatory. From a number of 
private individuals in London and vicinity were received other gifts, 
making the number of volumes contributed about 1,500. 

President Babcock was impressed with the necessity of reviving the 
theological department of the college, feeling himself pledged to carry 
out the purpose of its founders and the wishes of many more recent 
benefactors. The proposal to establish a theological school elsewhere 
was perhaps an additional motive. He addressed a communication 
in February, 1836, to the Maine Baptist Theological Association which 
met at Hallo well February 24, stating the provision already made for 
a theological class in these words : 

Ever since the organization of the present faculty of the college it has been the 
determination to form such a class entirely distinct from the college exercises, 
and they have only been delayed until the present time for want of materials. 
Such a class is now formed, and during the whole of the last term has been pro- 
gressing in theological studies. This class is limited in its course to a single year. 
The plan of studies is as follows: 

First term. — 1, antiquities and geography of the Bible; 2, ecclesiastical history; 

3, critical study of the Bible in the original languages and in the English version; 

4, careful attention to composition and elocution every week. 

Second term. — 5, principles of Biblical interpretation; 6, Christian theology. 
Third term. — 6 (continued) , at least 50 written exercises on doctrines and duties, 



11- EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

criticised: 7. pastoral and pulpit duties; 8, composition and delivery of sermons. 
No charge is made for tuition in the theological class. Three of the professors 
are employed in this instruction. 

The trustees approved the work by the following vote, August 2, 
L836: 

Voted . That a plan prepared by President Babcock and partially carried into 
effect the past year, for the education of theological students by members of the 
faculty of the college, without additional expense, be approved by the board. 

Dr. Babcock resigned the presidency July 18, 1836. Several months 
previous he had had a severe pulmonary attack, and a residence in a 
milder climate was deemed indispensable to his recovery. His resig- 
nation was reluctantly accepted, and on motion of Judge Weston a 
resolution was adopted — 

That this board deeply regret the necessity which has induced the Rev. Dr. 
Babcock to proffer his resignation as president of this college. And while they 
are sensible that the measure is justified by a due regard for his health, which 
requires for its preservation a more genial climate, they feel constrained to 
declare that no other cause would reconcile them to the dissolution of his con- 
nection with the institution. With a lively sense of the value of his services, they 
would tender to him this grateful acknowledgement for the zeal and ability, the 
dignity and urbanity, with which he has discharged the arduous duties confided 
to him." 

Dr. Babcock soon after accepted a pastorate at Philadelphia, edited 
the Baptist Memorial from 1841 to 1845, and died at Salem, Mass., 

May 4, 1875. 

PRESIDENCY OF ROBERT E. PATTISON, D. D. 

Rev. Robert E. Pattison, of Providence, R. I., was unanimously 
chosen as successor to President Babcock. The new president had 
served as professor of mathematics under Dr. Chaplin in 1828-29, 
and entered at once upon his duties. Under his efficient direction 
the attendance was largely increased and the quality of the instruc- 
tion given rose to a high rank. In 1839 a class of 18 graduated, the 
largest up to that time. President Pattison gained the affection 
and respect of the community and of his students to a remarkable 
degree. A convention of the friends of the college held at Hallowell 
June 12, 1839, expressed entire confidence in the board of instruction 
and in the management of the financial concerns by the trustees, and 
pledged themselves to raise an adequate sum to place the institution 
above embarrassment. But the immediate results were not sufficient 
to relieve the college and its officers from financial distress. Presi- 
dent Pattison resigned in December, 1839, "amid the regrets of all 
who knew him, and especially of the students, by whom he was re- 
vered and beloved." The college was threatened with entire suspen- 

« Zion's Advocate. Portland, August 10, 1836. 



COLBY COLLEGE. 113 

sion, if not final ruin, since the professors nearly all tendered their 
resignations at the same time. Through the influence of Professor 
Keely they were induced to remain until one more attempt could be 
made to secure funds. The citizens of Waterville responded to the 
appeal, and in a few days subscribed $10,000, the faculty heading the 
list with $2,000. Stirring appeals were made in the editorial col- 
umns of the denominational paper of the State, the Zion's Advocate,^ 
and several soliciting agents were sent out through Maine and Massa- 
chusetts. The effort was successful, and the committee was enabled 
to announce on the 11th of December, 1840, that the sum of $50,000 
had been subscribed. 

PRESIDENCY OF ELIPHAZ PAY, A. M. 

At the commencement in August, 1841, the trustees elected to the 
office of president, Mr. Eliphaz Fay, of Poughkeepsie, N. Y., a teacher 
of considerable experience, and highly recommended for the position. 
The attendance in 1841-42, the year following the interregnum, was 
only 76. The published reports of the first commencement over which 
President Fay presided, speak in warm terms of his urbane and dig- 
nified manner, and of "the efficiency and amenity " with which the 
responsible duties of his office had been discharged. There is, un- 
happily, some ground for believing that the faculty and President 
Fay did not work harmoniousty. At the meeting of the trustees in 
August, 1843, the resignation of President Fay was tendered and 
accepted, though a petition was presented from a majority of the stu- 
dents in college against its acceptance. 

PRESIDENCY OP REV. DAVID N. SHELDON, D. D. 

Rev. David N. Sheldon, then pastor of the Baptist Church at Water- 
ville, was at once chosen president. Mr. Sheldon graduated at Wil- 
liams College in 1830, studied at Newton Theological Seminary, and 
had been in charge of a Protestant mission in Paris several years 
before entering upon the pastorate. He brought to the office of 
instructor an intimate acquaintance with the French and German 
languages, a rare accomplishment in those days. In the department 
of moral philosophy, then as now under the direction of the president, 
he was able to employ and criticise intelligently the writings of dis- 
tinguished European scholars. Under his care and with the cooper- 
ation of an able and diligent faculty, the college recovered its earlier 
prestige and attracted students in greater numbers. The curriculum 
was established with the classics and mathematics in generous courses. 
The professors who then served the college have all become eminent 
as educators and filled the higher positions in several universities. 
They were George W. Keely, unsurpassed as a teacher of mathematics 

«In particular, the issues of January 8 and May 13, 1840. 
10324— No. 3—03 8 



114 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

and natural philosophy ; James T. Champlin, afterwards president of 
the college, who published in 1843 his first edition of ' ; Demosthenes 
on the Orown,"for more than thirty years the text-book generallyused 
in American colleges; Justin R. Loomis, for thirty years president of 
the University of Lewisburg, Pa., and whose text-books on physiology 
and geology were widely used ; and Martin B. Anderson, first presi- 
dent Of the University of Rochester, N". Y. 

Ten years passed in comparative quiet, with the regular work of 
the New England college of that period and with an average attend- 
ance of about 75 students. No considerable effort was made to 
increase the funds of the college. The income was small, but enough 
to sustain the life of the institution. 

SECOND PRESIDENCY OF REV. ROBERT E. PATTISON, D. D. 

In 1853 Dr. Sheldon retired from the presidency and Rev. Robert 
E. Pattison, D. D., who had been so popular as president in 1836-1839, 
w T as again invited to that office, He accepted and entered upon his 
duties the following year. There were occasional changes in the fac- 
ulty, but in general the affairs of the college proceeded in the une- 
ventful round of well-established duties. Failing health rendered 
Dr. Pattison's second term also of three years' duration. His admin- 
istration was marked by the intellectual vigor and devotion of a 
Christian character of rare excellence. His pupils ever remembered 
him with affection. He was subsequently professor of theology at 
Shurtleff College, and in 1874 professor in the Union Theological Sem- 
inary at Chicago. 

He died at St. Louis in 1874. 

PRESIDENCY OF JAMES T. CHAMPLIN, D. D. 

The trustees were fortunate in having in the faculty James T. 
Champlin, whose executive ability, thorough scholarship, and sound 
sense marked him as the man to guide the affairs of the college at 
this critical period. He was elected president in 1857, and entered 
vigorously upon his duties. A few sentences of his inaugural address, 
delivered August 10, 1858, reveal his just sense of the situation, as 
well as his determination. He says : 

Knowing full well, as I do, the history and condition of the college, I do not 
regard the office as a sinecure. Following a succession of able and learned men, 
and entering upon my duties at an important crisis in the history of the institution, 
I see nothing but labor and responsibility before me; and in these, indeed. I find 
my chief incitement. « 

Waterville College had need of a president with the courage and 
industry shown in these characteristic words. Its three buildings 
were much out of repair, and its invested funds hardly more than 

« Champlin memorial, 1890, page 10. 



COLBY COLLEGE. 115 

$15,000. Rev. Horace T. Love was engaged in 1859 to solicit funds for 
an endowment. He gave np the task after obtaining subscriptions to 
the amount of $25,000, and the work was continued with moderate 
success, at intervals, by Dr. Champlin and some of the professors. 
Then came the years of civil war, with its demands upon the young 
men of the nation. The attendance dwindled from 122 in 18G0-61 to 
62 in 1864-65. Even the small corps of four professors and a tutor 
could not be supported and it was deemed necessary to dispense with 
the services of the tutor, Mr. HobartW. Richardson, whose scholarly 
example and teaching were thus lost to the cause of education. 

It had been thirty years since any considerable improvements or 
additions had been made to the equipment of the college. The 
invested funds were now reduced to $15,000, and this amount was fast 
melting away. But in 1861 Dr. Champlin was informed that Mr. 
Gardner Colby, of Newton, Mass. , moved by the remembrance of early 
days in Waterville and of the kindness of Dr. Chaplin, its first presi- 
dent, to his mother and himself, was inclined to come to the help of 
the college. The result of Dr. Champlin's visit to Mr. Colby was 
made known when, at the next commencement dinner, with trembling 

voice he read the following: a 

Waterville, August 10, 1864 . 

My Dear Sir: I propose to give Waterville College the sum of $50,000, the 
same to be paid without interest as follows, viz: Twenty-five thousand dollars when 
your subscriptions shall amount to $100,000, independent of any from me; $25,000 
when $100,000 is paid on your subscriptions, not including any from me, and upon 
condition that the president and a majority of the faculty shall be members in 
good standing of regular Baptist churches. 

If either or any of these conditons are broken the entire $50,000 shall revert to 
myself or my heirs or assigns. 

I remain, yours, very truly, Gardner Colby. 

Rev- J. T. Champlin, D. D. 

The effect of this unexpected announcement upon the friends of the 
college was electric. In the words of Dr. Bakeman: "Men shook 
hands and fairly hugged each other in their transports of joy. The 
hall rang again and again to their cheers. Men saw that this dona- 
tion meant $150,000 of endowment. They had faith to believe it 
would be raised. In this glad hour the long-needed inspiration had 
come and all things were now possible." 

President Champlin and the members of the faculty spent several 
vacations in a thorough canvass of the State for subscriptions. 
Nearly $50,000 was obtained in the form of scholarships of $600 or 
$1,000 each, contributed by churches and individuals. The entire 
sum was subscribed within about two years. Without Mr. Colby's 
knowledge and at President Champlin's suggestion the trustees 
obtained from the legislature, January 23, 1867, an act changing the 
name of the college to Colby University. 

o A Tribute to the Memory of Gardner Colby, Boston, 1879, p. 41. 



116 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

COLBY UNIVERSITY. 

A now era of prosperity now dawned upon the college. The exam- 
ple and influence of Mr. Colby called forth large gifts from several 
others. A stone building was completed in 1869 for a memorial hall 
at a cost of about 850,000. It contains the chapel, library, and alumni 
hall. The ground plan of the building is irregular, being 107 feet in 
its extreme length from east to west, and of variable breadth from 
north to south, being 62 feet wide on the chapel end and 54 feet at 
the widest part of the library. The interior is finished in brown ash. 
The alumni hall has a marble tablet on the east wall inscribed with 
the names of the 20 college students and alumni who fell in the civil 
war. This memorial tablet, with a copy in marble of Thorwaldsen's 
Lion of Lucerne placed in an alcove above it, is the special gift of the 
alumni as indicated in the Latin inscription: 

FRATRIBUS 

ETIAM IN CINERIBUS CARIS, 

QUORUM NOMINA INFRA INCISA SUNT, 

QUIQUE IN BELLO CIVILI 

PRO REIPUBLICAE INTEGRITATE CECIDERUNT, 

HANC TABULAM 

POSUERUNT ALUMNI. 

The building is surmounted by a tower 80 feet in height, and was 
the first memorial building erected after the war/' 

At the annual commencement in 1870 Gardner Colby, Hon. J. War- 
ren Merrill, of Boston, ex-Governor Abner Coburn, and Judge Wil- 
liam E. Wording, class of 1836, each pledged $10,000, President 
Champlin $1,000, and the alumni present $9,000 more toward a build- 
ing for the department of natural science, and for other purposes. 
This building, completed in 1872, received the name of Coburn Hall. 
It is of firm slate, laid in ashlar, with granite trimmings, the walls 
being 56 by 48 feet, and 41 feet high. On the first floor is the chem- 
ical laboratory and lecture room. The second floor contains the col- 
lections in geology and natural history, including the Maine collection 
of minerals and the Hamlin collection of birds of Maine. There are 
also four rooms for lectures and laboratory work. Above is a gallery 
for w T all cases of cabinet specimens. The old chapel was remodeled 
at an expense of $6,000 into convenient recitation and lecture rooms, 
and the hour of the first recitations changed from 6 to 8 o'clock a. m., 
with chapel services at 9. Evening chapel services were omitted. To 
this renovated building the name of Champlin Hall has since been 
affixed by vote of the trustees. 

The north college dormitory was next taken in hand and the inte- 
rior woodwork entirely renewed. Steam heating apparatus was intro- 



« Services at the laying of the corner stone of the Memorial Hall of Colby Uni- 
versity, August 14, 1867, and at the dedication of the same, August 10, 1869. 



COLBY COLLEGE. 117 

duced and each room furnished with an alcove bedroom. Eight thou- 
sand five hundred dollars were thus expended upon the building, and 
the name Chaplin Hall bestowed upon it. 

All these improvements had been made under the personal super- 
vision of Dr. Champlin, and paid for by subscriptions solicited mainly 
by himself. Yet the invested funds had been increased to $200,000. 

President Champlin delivered a historical discourse at the fiftieth 
anniversary of the college, August 2, 1870, in which he reviewed the 
early history of the college. Among his writings, published while 
president, were A Text-Book on Intellectual Philosophy, First Prin- 
ciples of Ethics, and Lessons on Political Economy, each of which 
passed through several editions. 

The last assistance received from the State was a grant of two half- 
townships of land, February 4, 1864, on condition that the subscrip- 
tions to the college which were then being solicited should reach the 
sum of $20,000. Hon. D. L. Milliken, of Waterville, a liberal bene- 
factor and trustee of the college, was instrumental in obtaining this 
grant. 

The trustees, in 1871, voted to admit young women to all the courses 
of study on the same terms as j^oung men. 

In July, 1872, President Champlin asked to be relieved from the 
burden he had carried so long and so faithfully. At the request of 
the trustees he remained another year and then retired from the serv- 
ice of the college, leaving Colby with an invested fund of $214,000. 
The trustees in accepting his resignation adopted the following 
resolution : 

Resolved, That in accepting his resignation, the board of trustees would express 
their gratitude to Dr. Champlin for the long-continued, diligent, and laborious 
services which he has rendered as an instructor, and for the singular devotedness 
to the general interests and welfare of the university which he has manifested; 
and that, in retiring from the office of the presidency, he will bear with him the 
friendship and good wishes of the board. 

Dr. Champlin removed to Portland in April, 1874, and continued to 
reside there, engaged in literary work, until his decease, March 15, 
1882. 

PRESIDENCY OF REV. HENRY E. ROBINS, D. D. 

Rev. Henry E. Robins, D. D., entered upon the duties of president 
in 1873. He was impressed by the fact that, notwithstanding the 
improvement in the financial condition of the college, the attendance 
had for several years hardly averaged 50 students. It had not out- 
grown a custom which arose while the college was barely maintaining a 
precarious existence. Many students still preferred to get their best 
training at Waterville and then go to some larger or older college to 
graduate. President Robins felt that the Baptists of Maine should 
be made to see that they could not afford to send their children else- 



118 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

where to find an education/' Inspired by a high ideal of the mission 
of such an institution, he strengthened for the college its intellectual 
and moral foundation, and awakened the interest of the denomina- 
tion in its work. His administration marks an epoch in the history 
of the college. One of his successors lias said that " all the progress 
of Colby University since his resignation, and all present plans and 
efforts toward improvement, are developments of the policy which he 
proposed." Additional elective courses were introduced, and the 
equipment for instruction made more effective. The south college 
was entirely remodeled within, the gymnasium was made an impor- 
tant adjunct of college training, and the administration of the libraiy, 
placed in charge of a paid librarian, was so much improved as to win 
from Hon. John Eaton, United States Commissioner of Education, 
who visited the college in 1877, especial mention in his report. 6 

A gratifying increase in the number of students was soon remarked. 
While only 62 were enrolled the first year of his administration, the 
average attendance during his presidency was 118, the highest num- 
ber being 157 in 1879. 

Gardner Colby, the honored benefactor of the college, died April 2, 
1879. From his estate Colby University received a bequest of 
$120,000, making, with Mr. Colby's previous gifts, the generous sum 
of $200,000. Of this sum one opportune donation was a pledge of 
$500 a year for ten years for the purchase of books for the library. 
Included in his final bequest was a fund of $20,000, the interest of 
which is to be used to assist needy students. President Robins deliv- 
ered a memorial sermon on Mr. Colby as a baccalaureate address at 
the commencement in 1879/ The arduous labors of President Robins 
so undermined his health that he was forced to ask a leave of absence 
during the college year 1880-81, after which he resumed his position, 
but was compelled to sever his connection with the college finally at 
the commencement in 1882. Though at once offered a professorship 
at Rochester Theological Seminary, his health has never permitted 
him to discharge more than a portion of the duties of the position. 

The endowment of the college advanced during President Robins's 
term of office to $235,000. 

PRESIDENCY OF REV. GEORGE D. B. PEPPER, D. D. 

Rev. George D. B. Pepper, D. D., succeeded President Robins in 
1882, and administered the affairs of the college with great fidelity 
until failing health led him to resign in 1889. Dr. Pepper had spent 
the first years of his ministry in Waterville, and had become keenly 



«A. W. Small, article on Colby University, in the New England Magazine, 
August, 1888. 

b Report of the Commissioner of Education, 1877, p. cxxxi. 
c Catalogue of Colby University, 1879-80, Appendix. 



COLBY COLLEGE. 119 

interested in the welfare of the college. As professor in Newton 
Theological Institution, in Massachusetts, and afterwards at Crozer, 
in Pennsylvania, he had acquired the experience and high reputation 
which made him the immediate choice of the trustees. 

During his presidency the attendance was nearly uniform, averag- 
ing 120 per year. He developed and carried out measures for the 
improvement of the college financially and educationally, all of which 
contributed to advance it in public esteem. In this period $200,000 
were received by bequest from Hon. Abner Coburn, who died January 
4, 1885, after forty years of service on the board of trustees. Col. 
Richard C. Shannon, who graduated in 1862, presented to the college 
the fine brick building which bears the name of ■ ' The Shannon 
Observatory and Physical Laboratory." The corner stone of this 
building was laid with appropriate ceremonies September 26, 1889. 
The entire cost of the structure, which was borne by Mr. Shannon, 
was $15,000. As its name indicates, it is designed to meet the wants 
of both divisions of the department of instruction over which Prof. 
William A." Rogers, I^h. D., presided. The lower story consists of a 
single room 56 feet in length, 30 feet in width, and 16 feet high. 
This room is completely surrounded by an air space $ through which, 
by means of a Sturtevant blow r er, air can be kept in circulation, and 
any desired temperature obtained and maintained for any required 
length of time. In this room are mounted two comparators for the 
investigation of measures of length, and other apparatus with which 
the professor may be pursuing investigations. Additional room for 
the same purpose is provided in the basement. The whole is heated 
from a steam boiler, apart from the main building. In the second 
story are the instruction and lecture rooms, with ample provision for 
laboratory work in various lines of physical research. The supply of 
apparatus permits of a great variety of experiments for illustrating 
and establishing physical laws. The collection includes, among other 
pieces of apparatus, a Kew unifilar magnetometer, Barrows' circle, 
Holtz's electrical machine, plate frictional machine, batteries, Ruhm- 
korff's induction coils, Clark's magneto-electric machine, Morse's tele- 
graph apparatus, Page's revolving electromagnet, a large collection 
of Crookes's tubes, electrometer, spectroscope, compound microscope, 
oxyhydrogen lantern, camera obscura, camera lucida, porte lumiere, 
a fine set of apparatus for illustrating polarized light, Lissajous's forks, 
sonometer, Koenig's apparatus for comparison of vibrations by mano- 
metric flames, and a great variety of apparatus illustrating wave 
motions. The dome of the observatory is admirably adapted to 
receive the 10-inch equatorial telescope, which is soon to replace the 
smaller one now in use. 

In 1886 the dwelling house on College avenue formerly occupied by 
Professor Briggs was purchased and prepared for the accommodation 
of the young ladies attending the college. 



120 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

President Pepper obtained in 1885 the division of the department 
of natural history and the establishment of a professorship of miner- 
alogy and geology. While he improved every opportunity of pro- 
moting the efficiency of each department of the college, he was careful 
to leave each officer entirely free to instruct in his own manner. To 
strengthen the department of history he obtained for the professor a 
year's leave of absence for university study. At the close of his 
administration, in 1889, the endowment of the college had risen to 
$505,707. 

PRESIDENCY OF ALBION W. SMALL, PH.D. 

The resignation of President Pepper was accompanied by his earnest 
recommendation that Albion W. Small, Ph.D., professor of history, 
be appointed his successor. Dr. Small, the first graduate of the col- 
lege to receive that honor, was accordingly chosen president, and 
entered upon his duties in August, 1889. His popularity as a pro- 
fessor was soon surpassed by the favor with which he was received as 
president. Possessing an intimate acquaintance with the conditions 
and limitations of the college, he addressed himself to the task of 
extending its influence in the State and perfecting its educational 
advantages. The number of students increased rapidly to 184 in 
1891, a larger attendance than at any previous time in the history of 
the college. Another dwelling house was purchased and a part of the 
president's house fitted up for additional accommodations for the 
large number of young ladies in the college. 

COORDINATE COLLEGES. 

At their annual meeting, July, 1890, the trustees of Colby Univer- 
sity, after extended discussion, adopted the following recommenda- 
tions of President Small : 

(a) That the board adopt the purpose of organizing within the university a col- 
lege for young men and a second coordinate college for young women. 

(b) That the conditions of scholarship for entrance to Colby be absolutely iden- 
tical in the two colleges. 

(c) That as soon as the income of the university will permit, instruction in the 
different branches pursued in common by the young men and the young women 
be given to the students in each college separately, except in the case of lectures, 
which would be given to the students of both colleges simultaneously, and except- 
ing also laboratory work, in which pupils are engaged upon individual problems. 

(d) That in the further development of the elective system due attention be 
paid to the expansion of courses likely to be of special attractiveness to members 
of the one college or the other. I refer, on the one hand, to courses in natural and 
political sciences, and, on the other hand, to courses in language, literature, 
aesthetics, and history. 

(e) That in case the students in one of the colleges should in any study not be 
numerous enough to form a separate division, they be admitted to recitation with 
the corresponding division in the other college. 



COLBY COLLEGE. 121 

(f) That in class organization, rank, prize contests, appointments, and honors 
the members of the two colleges be treated as independently as though they were 
in distinct institutions. 

(g) That the faculty be authorized to begin this reorganization with the class 
that shall enter in 1890, provided it can be done without additional expense. 

BOARD OF CONFERENCE. 

The plan of placing the students in more direct participation in the 
government of the college was proposed in President Pepper's admin- 
istration and the details more fully developed by President Small. 
The board consists of the president and 2 members of the faculty, 4 
of the senior class, 3 of the junior class, 2 of the sophomore class, and 
1 of the freshman class. The undergraduate members are chosen by 
their respective classes, no person being eligible who is under college 
censure. 

The board of conference is strictly for conference, to enable the 
faculty and the students to cooperate more effectually for the welfare 
of the college, shall be governed by rules of its own adoption, and 
meets once in two weeks. 

To the committee of students is intrusted the maintenance of order 
in the dormitories and on the campus, according to the rules approved 
by the board of conference and in conformity with the published laws 
of the college. 

The rules adopted for the committees of the board are as follows : — 

I. Either committee shall be competent to act as a grand jury to investigate 
and present charges on specific cases. The whole board shall sit as a tribunal to 
consider each case presented. 

II. The committee of students shall be regarded as the authorized medium of 
communication between the students and the faculty, upon all subjects of com- 
mon interest which students for any reason prefer to present through representa- 
tives rather than individually. 

III. The members of the committee shall consider it their duty severally to 
exert the whole force of their personal influence to discourage any and all acts 
contrary to the spirit of the college laws. 

IV. The members of the committee shall consider it their duty individually to 
take notice of all complaints lodged with them, and to present the same to the 
committee of students. 

V. Should there occur any violation of those rules which the committee pledge 
themselves to administer, the committee agree to investigate the facts and. if able, 
to determine what action is appropriate, and to adopt the same and report it 
immediately, either to the student concerned, or to the board or conference, or to 
the faculty, as shall be decided by special rules to be hereafter adopted. 

VI. The penalties which the committee of students may have authority to 
enforce shall be: 

a. Demerits.— The secretary of the committee of students shall report these, 
upon blanks provided by the college for the purpose, to the student concerned. 
At the close of the term, all demerits imposed shall be reported to the registrar 
of the faculty and shall appear on the term bills. 



122 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

Demerits to the number of 5 in any term shall place a student under college 
censure: demerits to the number of 10 in any term shall place a student upon pro- 
bation: demerits to the number of 15 in any term shall suspend a student from 
membership of the college for a period to be determined by the nature of the case. 

b. Fines. — In case of damage to the property of the college or of individuals 
connected with it, the committee of students shall assess the amount upon the 
responsible person or persons. 

7. Information which reaches the faculty through the committee of students 
shall not be made the ground of other action against any student than that voted 
by the board of conference. In no case involving college discipline shall the 
faculty take action before a meeting of the board of conference shall have been 
called. 

8. The faculty reserve the right to set aside a decision of the board of conference 
and to resume the initiative in all matters pertaining to college order whenever 
it becomes evident that the committee of students is unwilling or unable to 
accomplish the purposes above outlined. 

Dr. Small resigned in 1892, having been elected head professor of 
sociology in the University of Chicago, with a salary more than 
double that offered by Colby. 

PRESIDENCY OF REV. B. L. WHITMAN, D. D. 

An able successor to President Small was found in the young pastor 
of the Free Street Church, in Portland, Rev. B. L. Whitman, D. D., 
a graduate of Brown University. President Whitman entered upon 
his duties at the opening of the college year 1892-93. The attend- 
ance during his first year as president, increased to 206, the first time 
in the history of the college that the number of students had exceeded 
200. Fifty-six young ladies were enrolled in the three classes under 
coordinate instruction. The gymnasium was enlarged and furnished 
with baths and modern equipment in 1893, and physical training 
became an important adjunct to the curriculum. The greatest har- 
mony prevailed between the faculty and the students, and every- 
thing betokened a most prosperous administration,, when President 
Whitman suddenly resigned to accept the presidency of Columbian 
University at Washington. 

PRESIDENCY OF NATHANIEL BUTLER, D. D. 

A second graduate of the college, Dr. Nathaniel Butler, jr., whose 
father and grandfather had served as trustees of Waterville College, 
was induced to leave an important position in the University of Chi- 
cago to become president of Colby. He entered upon his duties in 
January, 1896, bringing a wide experience in college instruction and 
high ideals of the function of the college in the American educational 
system. Under his competent direction intellectual, physical, and 
social education each received due consideration. The misleading 
title of "university," assumed when our country had no real uni- 
versities, was exchanged in 1899 for that of "college," at his instance. 



. COLBY COLLEGE. 123 

A subscription to raise $60,000 for new buildings and other purposes 
received the approval of the citizens of Waterville at a public meet- 
ing called by the board of trade. The desired amount was obtained, 
Rev. N". T. Dutton acting as financial agent. The alumni chemical 
hall was erected in 1898 at a cost of $30,000. * A pledge that in due 
time a building for the women's college should be built and furnished 
was received from a friend whose name has not yet been made public. 
Rev. C. E. Owen, after the sudden decease of Mr. Dutton, was given 
charge of a second subscription of $60,000, and his appeals have met 
with a favorable response. 

President Butler gradually brought the manifold details and diverse 
interests of all departments of college activity into harmonious and 
systematic working order. A marked improvement in college spirit 
and loyalty was awakened in the student body. His scholarly addresses 
at many literary and educational gatherings reflected great honor upon 
the college and made its name more widely and honorably known. 

But the University of Chicago, which reluctantly parted with Dr. 
Butler in 1896, subsequently claimed him to take charge of an im- 
portant division of its work. His resignation seemed like a public 
calamity, affecting not only the college but the entire community also, 
which had through him been brought to take an unusual interest in 
the welfare of the college. A farewell dinner was given to Dr. But- 
ler b} 7 the citizens of Waterville and a silver loving cup presented 
as a token of their high esteem. 

PROFESSORSHIP OP BIBLICAL LITERATURE. 

Evidence that Colby is gaining strength where firm support is most 
needed presents itself in the response already made to the suggestion, 
made in 1891 by President Small, that the Baptist churches of Maine 
should become responsible for the maintenance of a chair of Biblical 
instruction. The aims of this department are, first, to offer system- 
atic instruction in the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures, as a body of 
thought, in definite historic relations; and second, to furnish elective 
courses in Hebrew which will enable students fitting for the Christian 
ministry to enter advanced courses in the theological seminaries. At 
the annual meeting of the trustees in 1892 a department of Biblical 
instruction was created and ex-President Pepper called to the chair. 
During the first five years the needs of the department are to be pro- 
vided for, partly by the effort of the Baptist Young People's Societies 
of Christian Endeavor throughout the State, partly by private gener- 
osity. It is hoped that before the expiration of this period the 
department can ,be placed upon a permanent foundation. The col- 
lege is fortunate in being able to secure once more the services of 
Dr. Pepper, and it , is believed that through his department the 
claims of higher education upon Christian men and women will be 
strengthened. 



124 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

The first courses in university extension work were offered by the 
faculty of Colby in the academic year 1892-93, with promising suc- 
cess. For the first year the following were offered : 

1. Aryan and Semitic languages. Five lectures, by Prof. J. D. Taylor. 

2. The history of art, Five lectures, by Prof. L. E. Warren. 

3. Astronomy. Five lectures, by Prof. William A. Rogers. 

4. Glaciers and glacial deposits. Five lectures, by Prof. W. S. Bayley. 

5. Mineralogy. Three lectures, by Prof. W. S. Bayley. 

6. History of the French Revolution. Five lectures, by Prof. Shailer Mathews. 

7. History of the Reformation. Three lectures, by Prof. Shailer Mathews. 

8. Biblical literature. Five lectures, by Prof. G. D. B. Pepper. 

9. The classical periods of German literature. Five lectures, hy Dr. A. Mar- 
quardt. 

10. The art of expression in its relation to literature and life. Three lectures, 
by Mr. G. J. D. Currie. 

In addition to these courses, single lectures of a somewhat more popular char- 
acter are offered, as follows: 

11. The city of Florence. By Professor Warren. 

12. Daily life in ancient Rome (with stereopticon views). By Professor 
Mathews. 

13. On courses in reading. By Prof. A. J. Roberts. 

PHYSICAL CULTURE. 

Colby College is now well equipped for physical culture. Its 
gymnasium, enlarged in 1892-93 and furnished with steam heating- 
apparatus, baths, dressing rooms, and baseball practice cage, and 
lighted by electricity, is among the best in the State. It is well sup- 
plied with apparatus for individual and class drill in light and heavy 
gymnastics, with good running space. An hour daily, four times a 
week, is required to be given to gymnasium work during the winter 
term, the last month of the fall term, and the first month of the spring 
term, under the direction of a competent instructor. 

GEOLOGICAL LABORATORY. 

The geological laboratory is provided with the most important 
instruments for the study of mineralogy, including a Fuess universal 
apparatus, a Nachet microscope, two student's petrographical micro- 
scopes, and with collections to illustrate the lectures in mineralogy, 
geology, palaeontology, and physical geography. The mineral collec- 
tion embraces over 3,000 specimens, including many that are well 
crystallized. The most of these are arranged so as to be readily 
accessible to students. The palseontologieal collection includes a 
suite of the most characteristic American fossils and casts of some of 
the foreign ones. In the geological cabinet is the State geological 
collection, intrusted to the care of the university by the Maine legis- 
lature* a series of New York rocks, Rosenbusch's set of 490 massive 
rocks, and 100 European crystalline schists, 300 thin sections of typ- 
ical rocks, relief maps of volcanoes, apparatus for the preparation of 



COLBY COLLEGE. 125 

rock sections, and a Thompson's dissolving Boston Ideal stereopticon. 
The number of lantern slides at present in use for the illustration of 
the geological lectures is only 200, hut the collection is being added 
to by purchase. A set of 175 crystal models affords opportunity for 
the study of crystallography. There are usually also in the posses- 
sion of the department about three or four hundred thin sections 
of crystalline rocks (the property of the United States Geological 
Survey), which are available for the study of special points in the 
geology of the Lake Superior region. 

In the physical geography collection is a set of Professor Davis's 
paper models, a series of masks of Pacific islanders, and a suite of 
325 geological photographs. 

ART COLLECTION. 

Through the liberality of the trustees, alumni, and private friends 
of the university a collection of works of art has been made and 
located for the present in memorial hall. This collection consists of 
portraits of distinguished benefactors and friends of the college, casts 
of noted pieces of sculpture, and sets of photographs and representa- 
tions, for the illustration of the lectures on the history of art. Addi- 
tions are made from year to year and are published with the names 
of the donors in the annual catalogue. 

SCHOLARSHIPS. 

The university has at its disposal 70 endowed scholarships, amount- 
ing to $76,322. The income of these scholarships, varying from $36 to 
$90 per annum, is devoted to the assistance of worthy students need- 
ing aid, under the following conditions established by the board of 
trustees : 

1. The student shall satisfy the committee on scholarships that he 
is in need of assistance. 

2. The student shall be in constant attendance upon college work, 
unless prevented by reasons satisfactory to the faculty. 

3. The student shall be obedient to college laws and duties, and aid 
will be withdrawn for any and all terms when he is under discipline. 

4. No aid shall be granted to any student who uses tobacco or 
intoxicating liquors, or frequents billiard saloons. 

When aid is granted, save in exceptional cases, the amounts in the 
four successive years are $36, $45, $57, and $60, respectively. The 
average is thus nearly equivalent to the charge for tuition. 

ALUMNI. 

The whole number of graduates with the degree of bachelor of arts 
is 1,015, of whom 44 are women. To these maybe added 55 medical 
graduates and 186 recipients of honorary degrees. The statistics 



126 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

given in the general catalogue for 1887 show that the 862 alumni at 
thai time had furnished 228 clergymen, 3 governors of States, 30 
journalists, 14 judges, 188 lawyers, 8 members of Congress, 14 foreign 
missionaries, 62 physicians, 8 presidents of colleges, 37 professors in 
colleges, and 9 city superintendents of schools. Sixty-five volun- 
teered in the civil war of 1861-1865, including Maj. Gen. Benjamin F. 
Butler and Maj. Gen. Charles H. Smith. 

There is a general association of the alumni which holds its annual 
meetings at Waterville during commencement week. Local alumni 
associations exist in Rockland, Portland, Boston, Springfield, Mass., 
and Denver, Colo. 

LITERARY SOCIETIES. 

Two literary societies, conducted by the students, have played an 
important part in the training of the young men in debate and com- 
position. The first one established was the Literary Fraternity, which 
was instituted in 1824, and incorporated February 19, 1827. a The 
corporate members were Abraham Sanborn, Sumner S. Rawson, Nich- 
olas Medbury, Samuel McLellan, and Hermon Stevens. The weekly 
meetings of the society were conducted with much vigor, and a valu- 
able library was accumulated from fees and assessment of its mem- 
bers. The usual order of exercises was, 1, a dissertation; 2, a debate; 
3, a literary critique. Nearly all the members of the college joined the 
Fraternity and shared in its privileges, until the growth of the college 
called into existence a rival society. This society, which took the name 
of the Erosophian Adelphi, was incorporated March 28, 1836, the orig- 
inal members being Joseph Russell, jr., Oliver G. Fessenden, Smith B. 
Goodenow, Benjamin F. Butler, and Nathan W. Oliver. A friendly 
rivalry between the societies increased the interest in their debates, 
which were occasional^ 7 held in the college chapel. The new society 
also built up a library, and for many years the patronage of the society 
libraries far exceeded the use of the college library. Rooms were 
fitted up in the south college for their convenience. The Erosophian 
occupied the north side of the first floor in the north division of the 
building, and the Fraternity similar quarters in the south division. 
The societies united in the choice of an orator and poet for the even- 
ing before commencement day. After the establishment of the Greek 
letter societies the purely literary societies gradually declined, until 
they ceased to maintain debates and became merely lending libraries. 
With the removal of the college library to its present location, and 
the general improvement in its service and facilities, the interest in 
the society libraries also died out. The Erosophian, whose members 
were chiefly from the secret societies, was the first to give up its exist- 
ence, and turned over its books to the college library in 1876. The 

« Catalogue of the Literary Fraternity Society of Waterville College (1847). 



COLBY COLLEGE. 127 

Literary Fraternity held its last session September 21, 1878. From 
these societies the college library received about 2,000 well-selected 
volumes. a 

GREEK LETTER FRATERNITIES. 

The Delta Kappa Epsilon Fraternity established a chapter at Colby 
in 1845; the Zeta Psi, in 1850; Delta Upsilon, in 1850; Sigma Kappa 
(young ladies), in 1874, Phi Delta Theta, in 1884; Alpha Tau Omega, 
in 1892. It is generally conceded that the social and literary advan- 
tages afforded by these societies have amply justified their existence. 
If they have sometimes fostered a spirit of partisanship which has 
been foolishly exhibited in class elections and general boastfulness, 
they have also created a bond of lifelong friendship stronger than 
mere class feeling, and have strengthened the sentiment of loyalty to 
alma mater. None of these societies as yet own chapter houses, 
though some of them are working actively to secure subscriptions to 
enable them to build. 

THE LIBRARY. 

The library consists of over 30,000 volumes and 10,000 pamphlets. 

The building is in the form of a Roman cross, the north and south 
portions being divided into two alcoves each, and the east and west 
arms into three each. These ten alcoves are admirably adapted to the 
Dewey decimal system, which is employed for the more minute classi- 
fication of the contents of the alcoves in the gallery. This classifica- 
tion has not yet been extended to the alcoves on the ground floor, 
where a general arrangement by alcove and shelf is used. The whole 
is thrown open to visitors, who are granted free access to the shelves. 
This plan has been attended with highly favorable results, and very 
slight losses or inconvenience. A card catalogue has been prepared, 
following Cutter's rules with slight modifications. 

The upper shelves of the library are used for the Congressional 
documents, of which there is a file from the Fifteenth Congress. 
These are arranged for ready consultation in the alcoves by the unit 
figure of the number of the Congress. Thus the eighth alcove con- 
tains, first, the documents of the Eighteenth Congress, then of the 
Twenty-eighth, Thirty-eighth, Forty-eighth, in regular order. 

The interior of the library is finished in native brown ash, with 
floors of Southern pine. A gallery passing entirely around the 
library is supported on iron brackets, and provides access to the 
upper alcoves. The room is adorned with portraits of eminent gradu- 
ates and teachers, and with several portrait busts and casts from the 
antique. 



Catalogue of the Erosophian Adelphi of Waterville College, 1861. 



128 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

Near the center of the room, on a pedestal of polished red Calais 
granite, is a marble bust of Milton, the work of the Maine sculptor, 
Paul Akers. It was presented to the library by the late H. W. Rich- 
ardson, of Portland, and other alumni. 

The library is very generally used by the students, who draw about 
6,000 volumes annually. In the work of preparing themes for class 
exercises much elasticity is given to the ordinary rules, which only 
allow three volumes to each student at a time. Prompt return of 
books not actually in use is required. An assistant has charge of 
the delivery desk during a part of the day. All the other library 
duties are performed by the librarian. The office of librarian was 
attached to that of the professor of modern languages from 1873 
until 1891-92, when the entire time of the librarian was assigned 
to library and registrar work with a professor's salary. The assist- 
ant has received $200 per annum from a benefactor of the college. 
The purchase of books is provided for by the income of a library 
fund of $2,000, and by an annual appropriation by the board of 
trustees, usually of $500. The library also receives frequent donations 
from alumni and friends, which increase the annual accessions to 
about 800 volumes. 

A reading room is maintained by an association of the students, 
and is under their management. The college provides a suitable room 
on the ground floor of the south college building. Other expenses 
are borne by the students. The room is open every day, and at all 
hours. Magazines are taken by the library and loaned from there. 
The reading room is devoted to newspapers. 

students' publications. 

The Colby Echo is published fortnightly by the students during 
the college year, and in 1892 was in its sixteenth volume. 

The Oracle is an annual volume published by the students during 
t}ie third term. The } T oung ladies share in the editorial labors. 

EXPENSES. 

Following is an estimate of the principal items: 

Per annum. 

Tuition $60 . 00 

Room rent, one-half of a room _____.. 12. 00 

Incidentals . 18. 00 

Books 12.00 

Fuel 15.00 

Light 2. 50 

Board (thirty-seven weeks at $2.25 in clubs) 83. 25 

Washing 12.00 

Furniture (cost averaged upon four years) 14. 00 

Sundry other expenses - - 5. 00 

233. 75 



COLBY COLLEGE. 129 

When two persons occupy one room, the charge for room rent is from $12 to 
$18 per annum, according to the location of the room. Room rent for a single 
occupant is from $21 to $30. 

About 75 per cent of the students receive a scholarship allowance 
of nearly $50 annually toward the payment of their term bills. 

FACULTY OF INSTRUCTION, 1892-93. 

Rev. Eeniah L. Whitman, A. M., president, Bahcock professor of intellectual and 

moral philosophy. 
John B. Foster, LL. D., professor of the Greek language and literature. 
Edward W. Hall, A. M., librarian and registrar. 
William Elder, A. M., Sc. D., Merrill prof essor of chemistry. 
Julian D. Taylor, A. M., professor of the Latin language and literature. 
LabanE. Warren, A. M., professor of mathematics and lecturer on art, secretary 

of the faculty. 
Rev. George D. B. Pepper, D. D., LL. D., professor of Biblical literature. 
William A. Rogers, Ph. D. , LL. D. , professor of physics and astronomy. 
William S. Bayley, Ph. D., professor of mineralogy and geology. 
Shailer Mathews, A. M., professor of history and political economy. 

, professor of rhetoric. 

Arthur J. Roberts, A. B., assistant professor of rhetoric. 
Anton Marquardt, Ph. D., instructor in modern languages. 
Norman L. Bassett, A. B., instructor in Greek. 
George J. D. Currie, instructor in elocution and gymnastics. 

10324— No. 3—03 9 



Chapter VI. 

BATES COLLEGE. 
By Prof. James A. Howe, D. D. 



Bates College is one of the youngest of New England colleges, and 
next to the youngest of the four Maine colleges. It was started in 
1863, and chartered by the legislature of the State in January of the 
next year. Viewed in respect to the time and place of its beginning, 
it will be seen that its projectors undertook a work of no little 
difficulty. 

DIFFICULTIES OF FOUNDING A COLLEGE IN NEW ENGLAND. 

The territory of the six Eastern States, compared with that of some 
single States in other parts of our country, is small. Within this ter- 
ritory, in 1863, 14 colleges existed — 2 in Maine, 3 in Vermont, 1 in 
New Hampshire, 6 in Massachusetts, 1 in Rhode Island, 3 in Connect- 
icut. Into this somewhat exclusive set a new college comes much 
like an intruder encroaching on vested rights. Especially if the 
newcomer can not show itself to be well endowed at the outset is it 
challenged to answer how it can expect to stand on an equality with 
institutions of age and repute, or to perform any service for society 
not already taken in charge by abler hands. The young college must 
of course enter more or less into competition with the older colleges 
for patronage, and at a great disadvantage, for they are strong in 
the friendship of a numerous and illustrious alumni, have a full, able, 
and liberally paid faculty, are rich in libraries, cabinets, and other 
means of culture, with grounds and buildings, class rooms, halls, and 
groves hallowed by scholarly associations, and for their invaluable 
services have become endeared to church and state and the whole 
commonwealth of letters, and therefore can present attractions alto- 
gether wanting in nascent institutions, where everything is new and 
fresh, if not meager and incomplete. 

It is true that, on the other hand, there are some considerations 
serving in a measure to counteract these powerful competitive influ- 
ences; for all the attractions of college halls do not stand to the credit 
of age, else newcomers would be entirely shut out. The customs, 
traditions, methods, and spirit dominating an old institution may 
130 



BATES COLLEGE. 131 

too much respect the past, and may consequently lack adaptation to 
the intellectual and moral interests of students of the present day. 
Besides, the energy, flush, and freedom of youth may make liberal 
compensations in the class room for whatever flavor of antiquity may 
be wanting there. The disadvantages under which the new college 
starts on its career may also be lessened if it adopt some one special 
line of instruction and have at the beginning a rich foundation. 

But let it propose to be of the same general character as that of 
other colleges; let it begin in poverty, depending for support and 
equipment on funds to be gathered here and there by personal solic- 
itation, and largely from persons of small means; let it aim to secure 
and retain, on meager salaries, a full and able faculty, and, while 
half furnished, to win the confidence of the public and attract stu- 
dents to an alma mater without children, then the difficulties it would 
have to meet would be precisely those confronting the founders of 
Bates College as they began their work. Only by their uncommon 
faith and courage were they able to give pledges to the friends of 
education that, in spite of the magnitude of the undertaking, their 
efforts to build a New England college worthy of a place among sister 
institutions should be carried to success. 

They saw that certain educational wants in New England were not 
met by any existing college; that, in some special directions, a need 
existed that only a new college could supply. Believing also in the 
leadings of Providence in the matter, they commenced the work and 
stood ready to give to every man a reason for calling the college into 
existence. 

raison d'etre. 

4 

I. Denominational need. — The primary object of the projectors of 
this enterprise was to provide the Free Baptists of New England with 
a college of their own. In 1863 this denomination, with its 500 
churches, 30,000 church members, and thrice or four times that num- 
ber of church attendants in New England, had no college east of 
Hillsdale, Mich. Several small academies and two large seminaries 
of a higher grade constituted its New England educational equipment. 
From these schools classes of young men were annually sent to col- 
leges controlled by other denominations. 

Among the Free Baptists at this time no popular demand for the 
college existed ; only a great need and a great possibility. Indeed, its 
projectors expected to meet no little denominational opposition; but 
they knew that if the college were once secured the effect of the 
denomination ownership would be to awaken interest in it, to make 
the churches centers for advertising its claims and the ministers 
agents for searching out students and putting; them on the way to its 
halls. They knew, also, that many young people who otherwise would 
never be reached by a call to enter on a thorough course of study 



132 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

would now come under a special pressure to fit for college and begin 
the pursuit of learning. Within the denomination, therefore, it was 
plain that room and reason enough for the college could be found. 
But patronage from this source alone promised, at best, to be 
comparatively small. For any wide influence on society the college 
required a larger constituency; and another large class remained 
needing, if not asking, for its aid. 

II. Coeducation. — Prior to 1863 no college in New England had 
opened its doors to her sons and daughters alike, nor had opened 
them to her daughters at all. Against the principle of coeducation 
old customs, traditions, and inherited prejudices were stoutly arrayed. 
If a college should come forward, accepting the hazard of the experi- 
ment, and admit young women to its classes on the same terms as it 
did young men, it would certainly find, in time, its intelligent and 
generous action appreciated and secure the honor of first answering 
this peculiar need. If Bates could find no other reason for its exist- 
ence, it certainty could find one here, and one that would later come 
to be approved by other New England colleges. 

III. Indigent students. — Another aim that Bates had in view was to 
meet the wants of students compelled to work their way through col- 
lege. By the standards of the poor, the scale of expenses in most 
institutions was high and to many a youth disheartening. However 
willing to exert themselves, the sons and daughters of farmers and 
mechanics saw no reasonable prospect of earning enough money to 
cover the expenses of a four years' course of study, in addition to the 
expense of three years of preparation for it. 

It is generally admitted that college expenses tend to increase with 
the age and wealth of the college. In most colleges, therefore, funds 
are specially provided for directly assisting poor students. But charity 
coming in this way, however delicately given, chafes the spirit of the 
beneficiary. American students prize their independence and demand 
the right to meet their companions as equals. The founders of Bates 
thought that there was need of a college where, without loss of self- 
respect or social standing, poor young men and women could get on, 
pay their bills, and reach graduation the peers in all respects of other 
students, if only peers in character and scholarship. 

IV. Local support. — The location of Bates promised to secure it the 
attendance of a large number of students of both sexes from the 
homes of Lewiston and Auburn. It was to stand in the midst of 
more than 30,000 people. To the young people of its neighborhood a 
college presents an object lesson on the value of an education. The 
sound of the college bell, the sight of the grounds and buildings ani- 
mate with student life, the worth of college training shown in public 
declamations, debates, and other rhetorical and literary exhibitions, 
togetl' er with the inspiring scenes of class and commencement days, 
powerfully appeal to the youth living in the vicinity of a college to 



BATES COLLEGE. 138 

join with their equals in age in pursuit of the best things of life. 
Bates saw before it a great opportunity to diffuse intelligence and 
culture in society at its doors. 

V. The general public. — In addition to serving the wants of the 
special classes named the college found room enough to do no incon- 
siderable work for the cause of higher education, irrespective of any 
special class. By maintaining a decided moral and Christian char- 
acter, and by securing a reputation for the quality of instruction 
given, the college might reasonably expect that parents would often 
choose to intrust to it, rather than to others, the training of their 
children. 

In view of all these considerations, it was evident that New England 
had left a large place vacant in her educational work for Bates Col- 
lege to fill. Its originators could reasonably count on adequate 
patronage, increasing from year to year, if they went forward andl 
called the college into existence. 

THE BEGINNING OF THE COLLEGE. 

The Maine State Seminary. — The college was developed from the 
Maine State Seminary and succeeded to its lands and buildings. 
Hence it is necessary to give some account of the latter institution. 
The seminary was started by the Free Baptists of Maine and was 
chartered by the State in 1855. The legislature appropriated to it at 
that time $15,000 on condition that its friends would raise an equal 
sum. 

After the purpose to open the school was formed, but before it was 
begun or its location fixed upon, many Maine towns, appreciating the 
advantages it would bring to them, made strenuous efforts to secure 
it. China, South China, Hallowell, West Waterville, Unity, Vienna, 
Pittsfield, and Lewiston competed for the prize. It was finally given 
to Lewiston in view of an agreement on the part of the town to raise 
$10,000 for the seminary and to provide it a site worth $5,000. Of the 
money received from the State, $10,000 was required to be set aside as 
a fund; the remainder could be used for any purpose needed. The 
conditions of the State grant having been met by the payment of the 
pledges made by the citizens of Lewiston, the seminary was enabled 
to start with a capital of $30,000, a sum steadily increased by many- 
private gifts. 

On a well-chosen site two buildings were erected, called, respec- 
tively, "Parker" and "Hathorn" halls. The former is a brick dor- 
mitory, 147 by 14 feet, three stories high, divided into two distinct 
apartments, with dining halls and a basement. This building was 
named in honor of Hon. Thomas Parker, of Farmington, Me., the- 
largest individual contributor toward its construction. The matter 
hall is a beautiful brick building, 86 by 50 feet, containing the chapel* 
recitation and society rooms, cabinet, and library. Its name com- 



184 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

incinerates the liberality of Mr. and Mrs. Seth llathorn, of Woolwich, 
Me., who gave $5,000 toward the erection of the building. Another 
dormitory like Parker Hall, and designed to balance it on the oppo- 
site side of Hathorn Hall, was included in the original plan, bnt was 
never built. In September, 1857, the seminary began the work of 
instruction. One hundred and thirty-seven students were in attend- 
ance, 83 gentlemen and 54 ladies. The corps of instructors consisted 
of Rev. O. B. Cheney, A. M., principal; Miss Rachel Symonds, pre- 
ceptress; George II. Ricker, A. M., John A. Lowell, A. M. , Miss Jane W. 
Hoyt, and Miss Mary R. Cushman. Three courses of study were 
taught : A classical course, fitting students for college ; a ladies' course 
that, omitting Greek, went beyond the classical course in Latin and 
included modern languages, mental and moral philosophy, and other 
advanced studies; an English course, designed especially to meet the 
wants of students looking to a business life. 

The seminary took high rank among institutions of its kind. That 
it placed scholarly ideals before its students appears from the fact that 
until it was transformed into a college it graduated on an average each 
year a class of 12 fitted to enter college, while 41 young ladies took 
the full course of study in their department. It was very natural, 
therefore, that the thoughtful teachers of the seminary should begin 
to question the wisdom of Free Baptists in maintaining the seminary 
as a source of supply for colleges of other denominations. 

The originator of the college. — As the seminary largely owed its rise 
to its principal, so even more did the college. In the autumn of 1854, 
while Dr. Cheney was pastor of the Free Baptist Church in Augusta, 
Me. , Parsonsfield Seminary, at that time the only Free Baptist school 
in the State, was destroyed by fire. At once Dr. Cheney conceived 
the idea of substituting for it a higher seminary in a more central 
location. Taking others into his counsels, and ably seconded at every 
step and sometimes led by Rev. Ebenezer Knowlton, Dr. Cheney 
brought to pass most of the measures and largely secured the means 
by which the Maine State Seminary was founded and carried to a good 
degree of prosperity. Meanwhile other ideas grew upon him, and a 
larger plan took shape in his mind. He saw the opportunity, felt the 
necessit3 T , and pressed the subject of using the seminary as the foun- 
dation of a college. At the annual meeting of the trustees of the 
seminary, in 1862, 16 of its young men presented a petition to the 
board for college instruction to be provided them in the institution. 
In anticipation of the inevitable change the right of the seminary to 
enlarge its scope and to confer college degrees had been obtained from 
the State by Dr. Cheney on conditions, however, as yet unmet. His 
next step was to request the trustees to add to the seminary a college 
department. 

The trustees were not ready to adopt so bold a measure. To the 
petitioners they replied that they dared not assure them that their 



BATES COLLEGE. 135 

request would be granted, but advised them to consult with their 
teachers in respect to prolonging the course of study in the seminary. 

The trustees hesitated, with good reason. They questioned their 
ability to secure funds sufficient to give a college any standing or 
worth. For the year just closed the regular income of the seminary 
was less than $6,000. The institution had but two buildings, and the 
chapel in Hathorn Hall was not finished. The assets over liabilities, 
exclusive of land and buildings, were only $12,000. It was also known 
that the Free Baptist educational interests, centered in New Hampton, 
N. H., divided the sympathies of the New England churches and 
would prevent a concentration of denominational effort at Lewiston. 
Already a tripartite agreement concerning the way money should be 
raised in the churches between the theological school and the literary 
institution at New Hampton and the Maine State Seminary, aiming 
to become a college, had been proposed and was under advisement. 

Notwithstanding these objections, after canvassing the subject for 
twelve months, at the next annual meeting, in July, 1863, the trustees 
unanimously voted "that the seminary be hereafter known and called 
by the name of Bates College," and that application be made to the 
next legislature for a college charter under that name. This vote 
meant that during the year friends of education in and out of the 
denomination had been approached upon this subject and that there 
appeared to be a reasonable prospect of success in the attempt to 
found a college. Prior to the annual meeting of the board two special 
meetings had been held — one in February, at Augusta — to take action 
on certain generous proposals received from some wealthy gentlemen 
of Boston who were interested in the business enterprises of Lewiston. 
Encouraged by this unexpected and liberal promise of help in an 
attempt to enlarge the institution, the trustees resolved to go forward 
in that direction. At a second special meeting of the board, in May, 
at Lewiston, the vote was taken to commence a college course in the 
fall and to put an agent in the field to solicit funds for this object. 
The annual meeting in July reaffirmed and clinched the vote of the 
May meeting. 

The offers of aid that came to the trustees from outside persons 
were secured by the activity of Dr. Cheney. He was the head and 
front of this enterprise, and was the secret, when not the manifest 
force back of almost every movement in its favor, and it was chiefly 
due to his faith and determination, courage and persistency, that the 
desired result was finally reached. He believed in Lewiston as a favor- 
able place for such an institution, and was convinced that if it were 
of a high grade, and were managed in the interests of poor students, 
and of students of both sexes, patronage would flow to it. He knew, 
also, that his denomination would gladly second an attempt to plant 
a college of its own if men of wealth were found ready to aid it by 
their benefactions. 



136 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

An honored name, — Providentially, at this time, several of such 
men had large sums of money invested in Lewiston, who, both for the 
sake of the city and. for the cause of education, had taken a generous 
interest in the seminary. Foremost of these was Mr. Benjamin E. 
Bates. Philanthropic and Christian in spirit, and possessed of great 
wealth, he had cherished the thought of devoting a good part of his 
means to the benefit of mankind through an institution of learning. 
Taking the seminaiy into his favor, he encouraged the project of 
changing its character. In 1863 he offered to give the trustees $25,000 
if they would raise $75,000 toward making it a college. The next 
year he made them the munificent offer of $75,000 more on condition 
that they would raise $25,000. These conditions having been met, Mr. 
Bates paid the college $100,000 and became its earliest most liberal 
benefactor. 

In view of his first proposition, the trustees voted that the college 
should bear his name, an honor as unexpected by Mr. Bates as it was 
deserved. For in this, as in all his many subsequent favors to the 
college, Mr. Bates was governed by disinterested philanthropic and 
Christian motives. He understood the value to our country of Chris- 
tian colleges, and looked upon the opportunity of aiding a small denomi- 
nation to found such a college as a happy way of executing one of his 
benevolent intentions. It may be questioned if he could have found 
for his money a wider field of usefulness. To his distinguished liber- 
ality in thought and deed the college owes its existence ; for without 
his benefactions the labors of Dr. Cheney would have been unavailing. 

Other details. — In 1864 the trustees secured from the legislature of 
the State an act changing the name of the Maine State Seminary to 
that of Bates College, and declaring that all the property of the semi- 
nary should become the property of the college the same as if the col- 
lege and seminary were one. In addition to this the State made a 
grant of land to the college, valued at $20,000. This grant was accom- 
panied by the provision that the State should control ten scholarships 
in the college, giving free tuition to as many needy students, the 
children of soldiers falling in the war having the preference. 

The course of study adopted was made very similar to that of other 
colleges in New England. Invitations to enter the freshman class 
were sent out. The terms of admission were not made low for the 
sake of attracting students. It was determiued by the government 
that the college should be of the same grade as that of the older 
colleges about it. tt 

« It is interesting to notice what were the standard requirements for admission 
to New England colleges in 1863, as shown by the first Bates catalogue: 

The terms of admission. — Latin: Virgil's ^neid, 9 books; Virgil's Bucolics and 
first two Georgics; Hanson's Cicero, Sallust, and Csesar; Arnold's Prose Composi- 
tion, 24 exercises; Andrews and Stoddard's Latin Grammar. Greek: Xenophon's 
Anabasis. 5 books; Homer's Iliad, first book; Greek grammar. Mathematics: 
Arithmetic; Algebra, first six sections, Smyth. English: Ancient and modern 
history; ancient and modern geography; English grammar. 



BATES COLLEGE. 137 

Sixteen joined the first freshman class, of whom 8 continued through 
the course. At the end of the first four years the classes stood: 
Seniors, 8; juniors, 7; sophomores, 9; freshmen, 24; total, 48. 

The first catalogue of the college gave the faculty as follows : 

Rev. Oren B. Cheney, A. M., president. 

Levi W. Stanton, A. M., professor of Greek language and literature. 

Selden F. Neal, A. M., professor of mathematics. 

Jonathan Y. Stanton, A. M., professor of Latin language and literature. 

Horace R. Cheney, A. B., tutor in Latin and mathematics. 

In 1865 Professor Neal and Tutor Cheney resigned, the former to 
enter upon the practice of medicine, the latter to begin the study of 
law. The next year Prof. L. W. Stanton accepted the principalship 
of an institution in Byfield, Mass. The places thus vacated were 
filled by temporary instructors and by the permanent professors of 
whom mention is made in another place. 

College and seminary separated. — When the college opened the 
seminary became a department of it, having an equal right to Parker 
and Hathorn Halls, the library and apparatus. As the college classes 
grew the mistake of associating in this way students of all grades of 
advancement began to be recognized, and a complete separation of 
the college and' seminary came to be a necessity. Hence in 1867 a 
site now within the college campus was selected, and a commodious 
brick building 100 by 43 feet, 3 stories high, was built at a cost of 
$30,000. Here the next year the seminary took up its abode as an 
independent school, under the control of its own faculty and board 
of trustees. By a new seminary charter that had been obtained the 
college was required to pay the seminary not less than $40,000 nor 
more than $50,000. 

Tlie Latin school. — Three years prior to this separation the college 
preparatory class in the seminary had been formed into a distinct 
body of students called the Latin school, having for its special work 
to fit students for college. Without involving any immediate change 
in the character of the institution, this action had the effect to bring 
this department into special prominence and to make it attractive to 
the ambitious student. The influence of the college upon the semi- 
nary was generally recognized to be in favor of the Latin school as of 
the first importance ; therefore the latter soon came to be the heart of 
the institution. Ere long the idea of discontinuing the seminary in 
the interests of the Latin school was broached. Hence it came about 
that the next year after the seminary took possession of its new 
building the ladies' department was given up, or rather was pre- 
sented, together with $5,000, to the Maine Central Institute, a new 
Free Baptist school in Pittsfield, Me. The Latin school was retained, 
and with the remaining property of the seminary was transferred to 
the trustees of the college. Then as the last step the charter of the 
seminary was surrendered. 



138 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

The endeavor to carry on the seminary in connection with the col- 
lege, after the manner of not a few successful institutions in the 
West, had proved unsatisfactory and was wisely abandoned. 

The various changes through which the institution passed before 
its final state was evolved were not made without some opposition. 
Ardent friends of the seminary in the name of which the enterprise 
was begun were not at first all ardent for the college, and some of 
them viewed its absorption of the property of the seminary and its 
willingness to have the seminary given up as wanting in good faith. 
Time, however, vindicated the wisdom of the trustees and changed 
this feeling into one of cordial acquiescence in all the measures 
adopted and of open approval of the results effected. 

The college was now in a fair way of enlargement and prosperity. 
Its friends multiplied rapidly and generously remembered its needs. 
There was a steady increase in patronage, the catalogue of 1866-67 
showing in the first four classes 48 students; that of 1869-70 show- 
ing 77. 

THE COBB DIVINITY SCHOOL. 

The Maine State Seminary was discontinued at the close of the 
summer 'term in 1870. The next autumn the college government 
opened in its vacated building a theological department, the Latin 
school having moved into a new building especially erected for it. 

Vhe first charter of the college allowed instruction to be given in 
law, medicine, and theology, but expressly prohibited the opening of 
a distinct school in either of those branches. But after obtaining a 
new charter with this restrictive clause left out, the young college, 
notwithstanding all that was upon its hands, assumed the further 
responsibility of sustaining a theological department. 

To understand the clauses of this act reference to some denomi- 
national matters of that day must be made. 

In 1870 the Free Baptist Education Society was supporting a theo- 
logical school at New Hampton, N. H. For several years prior to this 
an effort had been going on to give the school a more complete equip- 
ment, but had thus far met with limited success. A better location, 
a suitable building, more men in the faculty, and additions to the 
library were imperatively demanded. The opening of the college, 
necessitating as it did a thorough canvass of the churches for funds, 
seriously interfered with the endeavor to find means for improving 
the condition of the theological school. The trustees of the college 
had from the first carefully sought the approval of the Free Baptist 
Education Society upon their great undertaking, and were now in 
communication with its officers to prevent any collision of methods 
or measures. After much discussion negotiations for the removal of 
the school to Lewiston were opened, and were carried almost to com- 
pletion. The society went so far as to agree to make this transfer 



BATES COLLEGE. , 139 

and to pay the income of its funds ($42,000) toward the support of 
the school on condition that the college provide a building for the 
exclusive use of the school and add two men to its faculty, the men 
to be nominated by the society and elected by the trustees of the col- 
lege. It was further stipulated that two-thirds of the college corpora- 
tion should consist of persons connected with the Free Baptist denomi- 
nation. To these terms the college authorities at the annual meeting 
in 1870 voted to accede, and then adjourned for one month in order 
to give the society time to select men for the additional prof essor- 
ships. But meanwhile the project was critically examined by lead- 
ing men in the denomination. Complaints that had to be respected 
were made against it on the ground of its giving undue control of the 
school to the college. Hence when the corporation reassembled in 
July President Cheney represented to it that the measures agreed 
upon* as a basis of cooperation with the education society were not 
satisfactory to many, and were likely to create a prejudice against 
the college among some of its proper friends and patrons. On his 
recommendation the trustees reconsidered their action and voted to 
start a theological school of their own. They accompanied this action 
with a request for the education society to surrender its school and 
to appropriate the income of its funds in aid of beneficiaries studying 
for the ministry, giving only the use of its library to the new institu- 
tion. The college agreed to open its school in the autumn with three 
men in the faculty, and to add a fourth within three years. Rev. 
John Fullonton, D. D., and Rev. John J. Butler, D. D., professors in 
the former school, were elected to chairs in the new, and Professor 
Hayes, of the college faculty, was appointed to teach temporarily in 
both departments. 

Readily accepting this surprisingly liberal offer, the education 
society took the steps asked of it, and left the way clear for the col- 
lege to initiate its new enterprise. The school opened at the begin- 
ning of the fall term of the college with fourteen students present.' 
Professor Fullonton taught Hebrew and ecclesiastical history; Pro- 
fessor Butler, theology and homiletics; Professor Hayes, English and 
Greek exegesis. In 1872, Rev. James A. Howe, D. D., was added to 
the faculty as professor of theology, and Thomas Hill Rich, A. M., as 
professor in Hebrew. The next year Professor Butler accepted a call 
to a professorship in the theological department at Hillsdale College, 
and Professor Hayes was retained permanently in both departments. 
In 1890, Rev. Alfred W. Anthony, A. M., took the chair of New 
Testament exegesis and criticism. 

Owing to the death of Professor Rich in the summer of 1893, and 
the retirement from teaching at the close of the fall term of that year, 
on account of age, of Professor Fullonton, Rev. Herbert R. Purinton, 
in June, 1894, was made instructor, and in June, 1895, professor in 
Hebrew and church history. At the former date, Professor Hayes, 



140 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

also, was, by his consent, taken from the college department and 
made professor of apologetics and pastoral theology, in the theological 
department. At the same time Professor Howe was elected dean of 
the school. 

Before the commencement exercises of 1894 were over, the announce- 
ment was made that Dea. L. W. Anthony, of Providence, R. I., one 
of the trustees, purposed to give to the college, for the exclusive use 
of the divinity school, a new building. It is a commodious and 
attractive brick building, 51 by 86 feet, three stories high, with large 
attic rooms, called "Roger Williams Hall," in memory of Mrs. Britan- 
nia Franklin Anthony, a lineal descendant of Roger Williams. 

Since the divinity school has been in operation the annual average 
attendance has been 21. About 30 per cent of the students have been 
college graduates. 

In 1887, the name of the theological school was changed to that of 
Cobb Divinity School, in recognition of the catholic spirit and gener- 
ous act of Hon. J. L. H. Cobb, of Lewiston, in giving to the institu- 
tion $25,000. Probably this is the only instance in our country of a 
divinity school of one denomination named in honor of a member of 
another denomination. This donation, joined with others especially 
contributed for the divinity school, has secured to it a foundation of 
its own nearly sufficient for its entire support. The interests of the 
Free Baptist churches in New England were appreciably promoted by 
uniting their divinity school with their college; and the college, in 
turn, has been benefited even more, both because its right to appeal 
to the churches has thus been reenforced, and because through the 
divinity school the college has become more widely advertised and 
become more exclusively a center of denominational attraction. 

GROWTH OF THE COLLEGE. 

The decade from 1870 to 1880 was one of steady growth in patron- 
age. The catalogue of 1879-80 shows a total of students in the aca- 
demical department of 141, or nearly double the number of ten years 
before. During this time, also, four men were added to the faculty — 
in 1872, George C. Chase, A. M., professor of rhetoric and English 
literature; in 1873, Rev. Uriah Balkam, D. D., a professor of logic and 

«At the time of his election Professor Balkam was a retired clergyman, who 
had been pastor of the large Congregational Church in Lewiston. In view of his 
scholarly attainments Professor Stanton conceived the idea of connecting him 
with the college, and solicited money in the city, principally from the members 
of Dr. Balkam 's former parish, toward endowing the chair of logic and Christian 
evidences for his occupancy. This effort was so far successful that in the autumn 
of 1873 Dr. Balkam began his work as an instructor, taking for that year the 
classes of Professor Hayes, who was studying abroad. On the 4th of March, in 
the next spring, while riding to the college to meet his class, Professor Balkam 
was thrown from his horse and instantly killed. His death brought upon the 
college the loss of a teacher of superior ability and scholarship, who was adding 
greatly to its attractiveness and worth. 



BATES COLLEGE. 141 

Christian evidences; in 1875, Oliver C. Wendell, A. M., professor of 
astronomy; a in 1876, John H. Rand, A. M., professor of mathematics. 

The library and apparatus were increased \>y annual appropriations 
from the college treasury, $600 being a standard sum of expenditure 
for them. The cabinet collections were enlarged both by occasional 
purchases and by valuable gifts from friends. 

The external appearance of the college was not forgotten. A lot of 
land separating the site of the Divinity School from that of the college 
was purchased at a cost of $13,838 and added to the campus. The 
gymnasium was built and partly equipped at a cost of $4,000; a build- 
ing for the Latin school was constructed at a cost of $7,000; and a 
house for the president bought for $15,000. • 

This increase of land and buildings, of facilities, of students, and 
professors indicated to the public a healthful development of the 
college and an intelligent adjustment of its affairs to secure its present 
and future interests. 

But during this period there was written an altogether different 
chapter of its history. In spite of these appearances of prosperity for 
a period of fifteen years beginning in 1870 the college was subjected 
to a financial storm of increasing severity, threatening the destruc- 
tion of the institution. 

STORM AND STRESS. 

The first necessity of a college is income. Inexorable are the 
demands for it. Buildings, students, professors, are of no avail with- 
out it. A college must have money, and that in a liberal measure. 
Starting on an inadequate foundation, Bates at once had to begin a 
struggle for existence. With it: expenditures brought down to the 
lowest figure consistent with anj degree of growth, still they would, 
year by year, stubbornly overrun .he receipts. The gifts of its friends 
were numerous, but inadequate to make good the deficiency in the 
regular college income. According to the settled policy of the col- 
lege to secure its advantages to poor students, the tuition was kept 
at $36 a year, the lowest in any New England college, and in many 
cases the tuition was freely gi\ ;n to the student for his entire course. 
The room-rent receipts from Parker Hall, the only dormitory, did not 
net 4 per cent on its cost. The remaining and principal source of 
revenue, the endowment fund, in 1869, the year before the divinity 
school was opened, when swelled by room rent, tuition, and all gifts 
for current expenses, allowed expenditures to exceed receipts by the 
sum of $2,567. But when the trustees dared to add to their already 
heavy responsibilities the support of a theological school, they saw a 
reasonable prospect of an immediate increase of the resources of the 
college. Instead of any increase, however, the year of opening the 
divinity school was signalized by the failure of two generous patrons 

« Professor Wendell, on account of ill health, was compelled to retire from the 
college at the end of his first year. 



142 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

of the college, involving- a loss to it of $25,000. The support of the the- 
ological faculty, together with that of the increased college faculty, 
augmented by the outlay for improvements before noticed, soon carried 
the aggregate excess of expenditures over income to an alarming 
extent. In 187G the floating debt amounted to $81,292. The next 
year it was $5,000 more, while the invested funds of the college were 
reduced to nearly $120,000. The outlook of the institution grew more 
and more menacing, except as relieved in a measure by promises 
of aid. 

By another characteristically generous act Mr. Bates early came to 
the assistance of the struggling institution. On February 21, 1873, 
President Cheney received word from him that if, within five years, 
the college would raise $100,000, he would give it an equal sum. At 
the same time the college was encouraged to expect that half the 
amount required of it would come from another friend. Hence, with 
$50,000 to raise, the college went zealously to work. Its needs were 
too pressing to admit of delay. To help secure the offer of Mr. Bates 
the Free Baptist Education Society subscribed $25,000. In a little 
more than a year, by strenuous solicitations, the subscription called 
for by the college was, to the great joy of its friends, declared com- 
plete. Then it was found that, owing to the prevailing business 
depression, the anticipated gift of $50,000 would not be paid. Hence 
the raising of this large sum was thrown back upon the college. 

The field open to appeals for Free Baptist enterprises was limited, 
at best, and this field had just been canvassed. The stagnation of 
trade increased the difficulty of soliciting money in that or in any 
field. The endeavors of the college to accomplish its object were tire- 
less and heroic. The very life of the college seemed to depend on 
getting this promised fund. A donation of $10,000, made by President 
Cheney at the commencement in 1876, finished the subscription. Again 
there was great rejoicing. But again great disappointment was met. 
In view of the general prostration of business, the payment of Mr. 
Bates's subscription was delayed. Meanwhile, some of the pledges 
made toward securing his offer suffered from the financial distress of 
the times. Hope was deferred, and before the matter was settled, on 
January 14, 1878, within five weeks of the limit of time allowed for 
meeting the terms of Mr. Bates's proposed gift, he suddenly died. 

The college fully realized that to deal with the law was not to deal 
with a personal friend. Therefore it carefully reviewed its subscrip- 
tion list, converted unsettled pledges into cash or legal notes, and, 
with the utmost confidence in the validity of its claim against Mr. 
Bates's estate, awaited the day of settlement. By means of a bequest 
of $40,000 that fell to the college in 1874 it could show that in the 
given time it had raised in notes, cash, and other securities $143,785. 
The legality of the claim was doubted by the executors of Mr. Bates's 
will, and the court sustained them in their doubts. 



BATES COLLEGE. 143 

It was not until five years after the death of Mr. Bates that the case 
was finally decided, when the college found itself nonsuited. The 
decision of the supreme bench rested on a point not considered by 
either party in the trial. The gift of the education society unfortu- 
nately carried with it the condition that the money should be avail- 
able for the use of the college so long as the teachers supported by it, 
in whole or in part, ■ ' should be approved by the executive committee 
of the society. " No evidence was offered to show that on these terms 
Mr. Bates accepted this money as a permanent gift to the college. 
Hence, by not allowing this sum to stand and by ruling that legal 
notes could not be counted as "dollars" raised, the court decided that 
the conditions of Mr. Bates's pledge were not fulfilled, and that his 
estate was not holden. 

Notwithstanding this opinion, the effort to meet those conditions did 
bring to the college treasury $100,000, and proved to be the salvation 
of the institution. But while the f ands were increased by this amount 
on the one hand, they were diminished on the other by the amount of 
many annual deficits, and still remained obstinately insufficient. 

The poverty of the college during this period rested heavily on the 
faculty. For % twelve years they had each sacrificed a fifth of their 
salaries toward keeping down the debt. At their request Professor 
Chase was induced to act as an agent for the college during vacations. 
His efforts were especially valuable. By his labors, in connection with 
those of the president, it came about that in 1884 the treasurer's books 
for the first time since 1868 showed, on current expense account, a 
slight balance on the right side. The expenditures were $18,729.28, 
the income $18,800.80, a visible balance of $71.52. But so small a 
balance is with difficulty kept from shifting sides. The next year the 
familiar story was repeated, a deficit of $840. While the current 
expense account may be said to have been brought within control, the 
permanent fund did not always show a stability in harmony with its 
name. In 1884, for instance, two notes, valued at $12,000, belonging 
to that fund, became worthless; on the other hand, during the same 
year $5,000 were added to it. With all debts paid the college then 
had $157,037, or not half the sum needed for a generous life. The 
management was rigidly economical, expenses were kept at the lowest 
scale, but wants accumulated, desirable improvements were deferred, 
and the salaries of the professors remained severely meager. At last 
a prospect of relief appeared. 

RELIEF. 

The financial relief of the college came about through another con- 
ditional promise of money and by another liberal bequest. In 1886 
Hon. J. L. H. Cobb, of Lewiston, proposed to give $25,000 to the col- 
lege if it would raise $75,000. This offer was followed by that of 
another gentleman, who agreed to add to the sum thus obtained 



144 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

830,000, the gift to be used for an astronomical observatory. While 
the college was engaged in finding the money for securing these 
pledges, a bequest of $40,000 fell to it; but as bequests were not to 
be included in the $75,000 to be raised to secure the pledge of Mr. 
Cobb, the funds of the college were by so much the more increased. 

To lighten the work imposed upon the college by this offer, the 
Free Baptists of ISTew England were invited to endow a chair in the 
divinity school, to be named the Fullonton professorship, in honor of 
Prof. John Fullonton, D. D., who for more than fifty years has served 
his denomination as an instructor of its youth. This proposition was 
heartily seconded by the old pupils of the revered professor. The 
churches were canvassed by two students, who in the course of a year 
received, in small sums, a good part of this endowment. The remain- 
der, about $8,000, will doubtless be made up in a short time. 

At the end of two years the college had met the conditions to Mr. 
Cobb's generous offer. On his part the pledge was promptly honored, 
and the college found itself at last brought into a condition of safety, 
if not of unrestricted liberty. 

Since the building of a college is the building of a public and per- 
manent institution, the persons by whose liberal gifts its foundation 
is secured seem to be entitled to such public and lasting honor as the 
pages of its history can give. It is a pleasant as well as a just act for 
Bates to put on record the names of some of its generous benefactors. 

BENEFACTORS AND BENEFACTIONS. 

Institutions owing their existence to funds gathered in a canvass of 
years, largely among churches of limited means, become indebted to 
a, multitude of donors of small sums, who are worthy of grateful and 
enduring remembrance. Of such benefactors Bates has preserved a 
long and illuminated roll. The aggregate of their gifts formed no 
inconsiderable part of the capital of the college at the beginning of 
its history. Its growth in years and in patronage made imperative 
enlargement in every direction. Enlargement meant larger expendi- 
tures, and larger expenditures the need of larger receipts, and larger 
receipts persistent solicitations of aid. So inexorable were the calls 
for money in equipping this young institution, so wide and strong 
the ever flowing and deepening current of expense, that only the 
munificent gifts of wealthy friends could have availed to arrest the 
flood and keep it from overwhelming the college. Though the endow- 
ment of Bates is still small, not approximating that of most New 
England colleges which, on a higher scale of charges, have only one 
department to sustain, yet on that account it has probably known 
more widely than they the number and the warmth of philanthropic 
hands and hearts. 

Hence, to group the chief benefactors of the college, in spite of the 
slight repetition it may involve, is necessary in order to present in a 



BATES COLLEGE. 145 

true light one important chapter in the college history. First among 
these — first in the time and in the amount of his benefactions — was 
the noble man whose name the college bears, who, as we have already 
seen, gave the institution, in addition to his valuable influence, 
$100,000. The State of Maine, having in its constitution a clause 
requiring it to make from time to time appropriations in aid of insti- 
tutions of learning, and having liberally voted money to the seminary 
and college, must be ranked among the most timely benefactors of 
Bates. The State appropriated $15,000 at the beginning of the Maine 
State Seminary, and, at the beginning of the college, voted it two 
townships of land, valued at $20,000. The Free Baptist Education 
Society, relieved by the college of the support of its theological school, 
paid $25,000 toward securing Mr. Bates's last subscription. The 
Alumni Association, a legally incorporated bod}^, gave the college its 
note for $10,000, with the understanding that all gifts from the alumni 
should go toward its liquidation. President Cheney, with character- 
istic liberality, gave $11,000 to the college to which he has given his 
life. The bequest of Mr. Joshua Benson, of Boston, brought great 
encouragement to the college in a dark hour of its history. Intending 
to devise the principal part of his estate to some institution of learn- 
ing, he was induced by a grandnephew of his then in college, the late 
Mr. E. H. Besse, of the class of 1877, to consider the character and 
needs of Bates. Another grandnephew, Mr. E. C. Benson, of Boston, 
heartily seconded this request. As a result the will was made in 
favor of Bates, and brought it $40,000. The next large legacy was 
that left by Mrs. Sarah S. Belcher, of Farmington, Me. Mrs. Belcher 
was a widow without children, who had long been interested in the 
educational work of her denomination at Lewiston. Influenced by 
her friendship for President Cheney, she formed the wise purpose of 
leaving the bulk of her property to the college. The will was con- 
tested on the ground of undue influence, a fictitious and absurd 
charge, both in view of the honorable character of the president and 
of the remarkable strength of mind of Mrs. Belcher. The plea was 
disallowed by the courts. The expense of both sides of the suit fall- 
ing upon the college, the only result of the trial was to take from the 
legacy nearly $10,000 for the costs of law, leaving $40,000 to the 
treasury. The largest benefaction Bates has received from any per- 
son now living is $25,000, from Hon. J. L. H. Cobb, of Lewiston. To 
this liberality Mr. Cobb was moved as a result of his observation of 
the work and worth of the college. How the trustees expressed their 
.appreciation, of this benevolence by naming the divinity school after 
him has already been noticed. 

In 1887, Mrs. Caroline A. Wood, of Cambridge, Mass., left to the 

college a legacy of $35,000. In early life Mrs. Wood was connected 

with the Free Baptist Church, in Vermont. By removal from the 

State, her membership was lost to the denomination, but not her 

10324— No. 3—03 10 



146 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

attachment to it. Having become acquainted with the character and 
needs of the college, she generously remembered it in the final dispo- 
sition of her estate. 

About the same time Bates received another bequest, that of the 
late Mr. Henry W. Easterbrooks, of Sutton, Vt., by whose thought- 
fulness in his last days $12,000 was devised in aid of the education of 
young men for the ministry. 

Early in the history of the institution, Mr. William Toothaker and 
his wife, of Phillips, Me., gave it $6,600. At a later period Hon. Asa 
Reddington, LL. D., of Lewiston, made a donation to the college of 
$5,000 in stock, accompanied by the wish that $1,000 of this sum be 
used to found a scholarship for a lady student — the first act of the 
kind known in the experience of a New England college. By depre- 
ciation of the stock, shortly after its transfer to the college, the gen- 
erous iDurposes of Judge Reddington failed to give it the aid intended. 

Mrs. Charlotte Chelsey, of Newmarket, N. H., left the college by 
will about $4,000. Hon. George G. Fogg, LL. D., of Concord, N. H., 
one of the trustees, showed his genuine friendship for it by a gift of 
$5,500. Mr. Chase Lewis, of Providence, R. I., gave $1,000 to endow 
one of the first scholarships in the college, and also left it a legacy of 
$4,000. 

Three of Boston's most cultured and liberal families have helped 
the college to the amount of $40,000 — help made doubly valuable by 
the ever cordial spirit with which it has been tendered. 

I. H. Hedge, M. D., of Waukon, Iowa, contributed $5,000 toward 
the erection of the laboratory that bears his name. Senator Stanford, 
of California, by a gift of $8,000 has given this Maine college signal 
reason for cherishing a fraternal interest in the university of which 
he is the founder, as well as for holding his name in lasting honor. 

Dea. L. W. Anthony, of Providence, R, I., has recently built Roger 
Williams Hall for the benefit of the divinity school. Favored by the 
times, this commodious and attractive building that would ordinarily 
have cost $30,000, was secured at two-thirds that sum. 

In addition to these sums should be counted the outstanding pledge 
of $30,000 toward an observatorjr and its equipment. 

As has been said, this is only a partial list of the persons who have 
chosen to make Bates the almoner of their liberality to church, society, 
and native land. 

The young college thus bears witness to the claim of American 
wealth to be foremost in the world in recognizing institutions of learn- 
ing as agencies of the highest usefulness. Were all the records of 
Bates to be published it would as clearly be shown that the apprecia- 
tion of such institutions by American people is not confined to the 
wealthy. 



BATES COLLEGE. 147 

THE EQUIPMENT OF THE COLLEGE. 

The aggregate of the gifts named in the above list is $462,100, 
including in this sum the pledge for the observatory. By means of 
these and smaller gifts the college, in spite of the large excess of cur- 
rent expenses over current income, extending through a period of 
fifteen years and carrying the debt nearly to $90,000, has been able 
to stop the deficit, pay this debt, and retain a small working capital 
that, by the strictest economy, would enable it to live as it is, if life 
without progress were possible. The grounds contain 50 acres, that, 
together with the seven college buildings, are valued at $225,000. 

The gymnasium. — The gymnasium, though adequate for its pur- 
pose, is the least expensive of the buildings. It is a commodious 
wooden structure, in the rear of Parker and Hathorn halls. It is 
provided with bathrooms and furnished with apparatus of the most 
approved pattern. 

Exercise in the gymnasium is taken under the direction of four 
students (one of them a young lady) who are specially trained for 
giving instruction in the college. It is thought that by taking com- 
petent undergraduates for teachers in the gymnasium the interest 
and morale of this work will be kept at its best, while the instructors 
will receive compensation to help them through their course. The 
regular drill is given four times a week to each class by itself. 
Attendance is required of all students to this, as to other college 
exercises. 

The libraries. — The libraries connected with the college number 
17,154 volumes. These are distributed thus: College library, 11,694; 
society libraries, 1,600; divinity school, 3,860, total, 17,154. Public 
libraries of Lewiston and Auburn, about 6,000. 

The books of the college library have been selected with care, and 
primarily with reference to the needs of the undergraduates. Hence, 
as an aid in their education, it has a value that might not be found 
in a much larger collection of books. It contains little rubbish, and 
is enriched by a few rare books. It occupies at present part of the 
lower story of Hathorn Hall, awaiting the time of its removal to a 
commodious library building. It is open daily, Sundays excepted. 

CABINETS. 

BOTANICAL. 

The nucleus of the herbarium was gathered many years ago by an 
enthusiastic botanist, the late Dr. Aaron Young. It contained a rep- 
resentative collection of New England, especially of Maine plants, a 
part of which was gathered during the State geological survey, con- 
ducted by the late Dr. Charles T. Jackson. The plants chiefly used 
now, however, in the identifying of species, are those that have been 



148 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

pressed and mounted in the laboratory and the herbarium of bhe late 
President Chadbourne, of Williams College, Massachusetts, which was 
purchased by the college. 

Of this, Dr. O. R. Willis, a distinguished botanist of New York, has 
said: "It is one of the best working herbariums I have ever exam- 
ined. " Besides its collection of New England plants, including the 
grasses, sedges, ferns, etc., in all about 2,000 specimens, it has several 
groups of ferns from other countries, also pretty full collections of 
mosses and lichens, named by the highest authorities, and more than 
1,000 fungi. There are collections of the plants of New Jersey, Ten- 
nessee, and Florida, also of several foreign countries, illustrating 
the identity of many families in Europe and America. There are also 
collections from Greenland-, Labrador, and the Tropics, and mountain 
flora from the Rocky Mountains, the White Mountains, and the Alps. 
There are also some 1,500 duplicates. These are in cabinets of the 
most approved construction. 

MINERALOGICAL AND ORNITHOLOGICAL. 

The cabinet of minerals, shells, and fossils occupies one room of 
the Hedge Laboratory. The collection is conveniently arranged and 
is steadily growing. All the common minerals, and most of those of 
rare occurrence, are fully represented by typical specimens. It is 
intended to make the collection of local minerals as complete as pos- 
sible. Among the shells and fossils are many choice specimens. The 
ornithological collection contains mounted specimens of nearly all the 
New England birds, besides many from other parts of the United 
States and from foreign countries. In all there are about 1,000 
specimens. 

LABORATORIES. 

CHEMICAL. 

The chemical laboratory is a two-story brick building of attractive 
modern style. On the first floor are the chemical lecture room, with 
rooms adjoining for chemicals and apparatus, and a large room occu- 
pied by the mineralogical cabinet. The room«for the laboratory work 
of the class occupies the most of the second floor. It is well lighted, 
thoroughly ventilated, and conveniently fitted with sinks, hoods, and 
tables sufficient to accommodate 48 students. Adjoining this room 
are the weighing and apparatus rooms and the private laboratory of 
the professor. 

The arrangement and appliances of the whole building are in 
accordance with the most approved plans of modern laboratories. 
The apparatus has been recently somewhat increased from funds con- 
tributed by members of the alumni and other friends of the college. 



BATES COLLEGE. 149 

PHYSICAL. 

The lecture room, laboratory, and cabinets of the department of 
physics are on the lower floor of Hathorn Hall. They are conven- 
iently arranged, are well furnished for their purposes, and are pro- 
vided with water, gas, and steam. The collection of apparatus for 
lecture purposes and for the students' individual work is rapidly 
growing. 

PROPOSED ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATORY. 

Several years ago the lamented Professor Stanley received $700 
from the late Mr. A. D. Lockwood, an old friend and former trustee 
of the college, for the purchase of a small telescope. By rare good 
fortune one of Clark & Son's 6^-inch glasses was secured from Prof. 
O. C. Wendell, of Harvard Observatory. This telescope is equato- 
rially mounted, and located where it can be made available for the 
classes in astronomy. a 

The college some time since had the promise that David's Moun- 
tain — a steep and solitary hill, 125 feet above the surrounding terri- 
tory, 390 feet above tide water, its base within a stone's throw of the 
college — should be crowned with a more complete observatory, fur- 
nished with a large telescope and other instruments of astronomical 
study. Financial disasters have caused a delay in fulfillment, but 
not, it is believed, a full surrender of this generous intent. 

In things essential to the full equipment of a college, Bates, of 
course, has not yet reached a state of affluence. It is glad to be able 
to point to Hedge Laboratory, recently completed, as evidence of its 
progress in supplying itself with the best facilities for instruction. 

INSTRUCTORS AND INSTRUCTION. 

The branches taught in the college may be grouped under the fol- 
lowing heads: Classics, mathematics, modern languages, English lit- 
erature and rhetoric, political economy, science, psychology, logic, 
and Christian evidences. On the question of making radical modi- 
fications of the old curriculum under which our earlier colleges won 
their reputation for discipline and scholarship, Bates is inclined to be 
conservative. In its judgment a technical course of study pursued 
after graduation from college, when the mind has been broadened, 
disciplined, and furnished with the groundwork of knowledge, gives 
promise of yielding the best results. If, after college clays are over, 
the business of life is to shut the graduate up to one special line of 
study or work, let him not begin too early in his course to turn aside 
from all other departments of learning. Of no branch of study in 

«A thief with a scientific turn of mind recently broke into the observatory 
building and stole the telescope. He is now (1896) in durance vile, with a prospect 
that the telescope will be recovered. 



150 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

the curriculum of Bates would a liberally educated man willingly 
be ignorant. Even in America life is not too short for our youth 
to lay a proper foundation for their future work. 

In the classics the instruction at Bates aims, in addition to making 
known the history, philosophy, life, and institutions of the Greeks and 
Romans, to secure accuracy and smoothness of translation, and to 
bring the student to feel the force and beauty of the ancient lan- 
guages. Special weight is attached to a correct knowledge and appli- 
cation of the grammar as one of the surest means of sharpening the 
power of discrimination and disciplining the judgment. This de- 
partment, together with that of ornithology, is in charge of Professor 
Stanton, who has been a member of the faculty since the opening of 
the college. Professor Stanton is a graduate of Bowdoin and of 
Andover Theological Seminary, and has also studied abroad. 

Mathematics is continued through two years, concluding with cal- 
culus, except when French is chosen in place of it. One of the 
options allowed in the course is between these two studies. Instruc- 
tion in this department has been given by Professor Rand since 1876. 
Professor Rand was a member of the first class graduated by the 
college, and left behind him a reputation for aptitude in this branch 
of study that secured his call to this chair. 

French is taught five hours a week two terms in the sophomore year; 
German, the same number of hours through the entire junior year, 
and advanced French or German is elective to juniors and seniors, 
respectively. The limited time allowed to these languages compels 
special attention to be directed either to the written or the spoken 
tongue. If four years in a foreign land are essential for acquiring 
the art of correct conversation in its language, it would seem to be 
wise for the time given to French and German in college to be devoted 
primarily to the grammar and the literature. Hence, Professor Angell, 
without overlooking conversation in these languages, follows this line 
of instruction, drilling his classes in the grammar and introducing them 
to some of the best works of the best authors. Professor Angell is a 
graduate of Brown, for several years was the principal of Lapham 
Institute, and studied for his department in France and Germany. 

English literature and rhetoric receive special attention at Bates. 
Instruction in these branches is given during some part of each of the 
four years. By text-books and lectures on the part of the instructor 
and by essays and criticisms on the part of the students the theory 
and practice of rhetoric are combined. The origin, development, and 
character of English language and literature are fully enough treated 
to exempt the college from the charge so frequently made that our 
higher institutions neglect the mother tongue. Until direct instruc- 
tion in history was provided, Professor Chase assigned from time to 
time historical events and characters as the subjects of essays and 
criticisms, and sent his students to the library for historical investi- 



BATES COLLEGE. 151 

gation, and thus in a measure aimed to supply the defect in the course. 
A special instructor in history was secured in the fall of 1894. At 
this time also, Professor Chase became the president of the college, 
and his department came under the care of Professor Hartshorn. 
President Chase is an alumnus of the class of 1868. He took a post- 
graduate course in English literature at Harvard, and subsequently 
studied abroad. 

Scientific studies and political economy were taught by the lamented 
Prof. R. C. Stanley from the time of his coming into the college in 1865 
until his death, August 5, 1889. They were then partly in charge of 
Prof. W. H. Hartshorn, who ably sustained the reputation given this 
department by his predecessor. Professor Hartshorn graduated from 
Bates in 1881, and fitted himself for teaching physics by a special 
course at Leipsic. At his request he was given in 1894 the chair of 
rhetoric and English literature, and Prof. Frank E. Millis, of Cornell, 
was chosen to succeed him. 

The course in chemistry has recently been enlarged in the direction 
of more laboratory work, and is taught by Prof. Lyman D. Jordan, of 
the class of 1870. Professor Jordan was called from the Lewiston 
High School to this position, and entered on its duties after taking a 
course of study abroad. 

Astronomy, geology, botany, ornithology, physics, zoology are pur- 
sued far enough to give the student an intelligent acquaintance with 
each of them, and to prepare him for further study. Five hours a 
week, for a term, are devoted to most of these branches. Chemistry 
and physics are both studied two terms. Two courses in each are 
also electives. 

Bates takes special pride in its instruction in ornithology as one of 
its peculiar features. Possessing the best private collection of Maine 
birds in the State, Professor Stanton brings to this, his favorite study, 
the results of an ardent and wide investigation. By lectures, illus- 
trated with specimens from his own or from the college collection, 
and by accompanying his class into the haunts of living birds, he 
leads the students to take a deep interest in this somewhat neglected 
yet fascinating branch of study. 

Christian in foundation and in character, the college regards moral 
philosophy, ethics, psychology, and Christian evidences as studies of 
the first importance for all liberally educated minds. These subjects 
are taught by text-books and lectures, and by the student's investiga- 
tion of assigned topics and preparation of papers upon them. Ques- 
tions apart from text-books and related to these topics are also given 
to the class to answer out of their own reading and thought. Except 
that ethics is taught one hour a week to the freshman class, the work 
in this department falls to the senior year. Until the fall of 1894 
this department was in the hands of Professor Hayes. By his trans- 
ference to the divinity school these studies came to the charge of 



152 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

President Chase. Professor Hayes is a graduate of Bowdoin and of 
the Free Baptist Theological School, and has studied in Germany. 
The honorary degree of D. I). was conferred upon him by Hillsdale. 

In the faculty of both departments 6 colleges are represented; 1 
is a graduate of Dartmouth, 3 of Bowdoin, 2 of Brown, 1 of Colby, 1 
of Cornell, and -4 of Bates. Seven have supplemented their college 
and professional courses by study abroad. 

From the first they have been a working corps. In the youth and 
poverty of the college, the character of its instruction has been its- 
main reliance for attractiveness. The instruction has been kept 
abreast of the day, but, as has been said, without any radical depar- 
ture from the course known to give a thorough and liberal education. 

CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES. 

I. Coeducation. — It was comparatively easy for Bates to lead the 
way in New England in offering college privileges to young women 
on the same terms as to young men, for in the seminary out of which 
the college sprung both sexes studied together through all the course. 
Why prolonging their studies for one year, or for four years, should 
involve a necessity of separating the sexes the trustees failed to see. 
Under their superintendence the principle of coeducation had been 
put to the test; for them to abandon it in the college, in the absence 
of any fundamental difference in the situation presenting a solid 
reason for a change of policy, would be plainly inconsistent. Besides, 
here was an open field for the new college to cultivate, with the pros- 
pect of large returns. Bates, therefore, determined to make the inno- 
vation, and fearlessly to fling open its doors to all. By the sagacity 
of the trustees, this step was taken in advance of any popular demand, 
but not in advance of public need. 

At the opening of the college course several young ladies, who had 
pursued the preparatory studies in the seminary, matriculated, and 
kept along with their class in college through two or three years, but 
none continued until graduation. Miss Maria W. Mitchell, of the 
class of 1869, has the distinction of being the first lady graduate of 
any New England college. Her example, however, was but slowly 
influential. It was not until in her senior year that she saw another 
of her sex in college. The number of ladies graduating thus far has 
been 81, distributed thus: 



11 



There are now 66 young ladies in college. The novelty of their 
presence and of their equal participation in all college exercises 
long since wore away and ceased to excite comment. Some superior 



1869 


1 


1882 


2 


1888 


5 


1893 


1872 


1 


1883 


2 


1889 


7 


1894 


1877 


2 


1884 


5 


1890 


7 


1895 


1880 


2 


1886 


1 


1891 


13 




1881 


1 


1887 


5 


1892 


3 





BATES COLLEGE. 153 

love of learning and earnestness of purpose will generally be 
found to animate young ladies intent on having a college educa- 
tion. Thus a principle of selection operates to secure in this class 
of students a high average of ability. This explains how it is that, 
at Bates, college honors have fallen to them out of all proportion to 
their numbers. It is the rule rather than the exception for them 
to reach oration rank. Four times they have won the salutatory, and 
six times the valedictory. In one class containing only two young 
ladies they divided these honors between them. 

Study has not been detrimental to their health. The regular habits 
of college life, together with the prescribed course of gymnastics, 
tend to improve rather than to impair their health. 

In all matters of college discipline they are an aid to good order, 
and have never given occasion for rebuke. As their numbers have 
increased any inclination of the students to cultivate unduly the 
social instinct has attracted the attention of the faculty and been 
guarded against. Coeducation, as tried at Bates, has proved a 
success. 

II. Open societies. — Among the earliest enactments of the college 
government was a law declaring that, "On no condition shall a secret 
society be organized or be allowed to exist. " All petitions of the 
students to the trustees for the abrogation of this law have been 
unavailing. Experience has demonstrated that choice must be made 
between secret or open societies. Both do not nourish. Bates pre- 
fers the latter as avoiding expense, securing the best literary returns, 
escaping the temptations incident to secret meetings of students at 
late hours of night, and as leaving the acquaintance and good- 
fellowship that would otherwise be pledged, if not confined, to the few 
members of a secret fraternity open to all members of a class, or of 
the entire college. One of the superior advantages of small colleges 
lies in the opportunities afforded for such training as is cultivated by 
open societies. At Bates, the Eurosophian and Polymnian societies 
maintain separate rooms at Hathorn Hall, and have libraries of about 
800 volumes each. In their respective rooms they hold weekly meet- 
ings on Friday night, and once a year have a public meeting in the 
chapel. As members from the freshman class are secured according 
to their judgment of the merits of these meetings, a healthful rivalry 
stimulates each society to a healthful exertion to excel. In gather- 
ings of students where papers are read, declamations rendered, ques- 
tions on various subjects discussed, and criticisms passed, the literary 
taste and argumentative skill of the members can not fail to improve. 

III. Needy students helped.— -No better proof of the design of the 
college to keep its expenses within the reach of poor students could 
be given than that shown in its refusal to obtain relief from its finan- 
cial distress by raising the tuition to an equality with that charged in 
other colleges. "Many a country Tad," said one of the trustees in 



154 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

discussing' a proposition to raise the tuition, "is influenced in his 
choice of a college by a difference of $5 in the tuition." In addition to 
the help offered by its low rates the college has 35 scholarships and 
the State 10, giving free tuition to deserving applicants. A still greater 
advantage in this direction has resulted from arranging the college 
calendar with a view to have the vacations favor the students in earn- 
ing money. Until 1895 the fall term has begun the last week in August 
and run to the Friday before Thanksgiving. Then college exercises 
were suspended for six weeks to allow for teaching winter schools, a 
privilege made use of to such an extent that until recently two-thirds 
of the young men during this vacation were found scattered over New 
England engaged in this work. Thus New England has received some 
return for the liberal aid it has given the college. The hard times of 
recent years have forced so many into teaching that schools enough 
for the students have been difficult to obtain. Hence the college, 
without abandoning the aim to allow students time to teach, has 
thought it best to begin its fall term two weeks later than before, and 
by so much to shorten the winter vacation. 

Teaching has been found to have other than pecuniary rewards for 
the student, by bringing him more fully into sympathy with college 
methods and requirements and quickening his grasp on the studies 
pursued. It also prepares him on leaving college to obtain, if he 
wishes, a permanent situation as a teacher. Undoubtedly the explana- 
tion of the fact that so large a per cent of the alumni make teach- 
ing their life work may be found here. The money earned in the 
summer and winter vacations frequently enables economical students 
to meet all their college bills, and if, by such industry, their time has 
to some extent to be taken from reading and study and to be given to 
things not always intellectual, yet, by working their way through 
college, they receive in the self-reliance, energy, and perseverance 
thus developed some valuable compensation for the loss. 

IV. Forensics. — The system of public debates, established from the 
first at Bates, is a peculiar feature of the institution and one of very 
high merit. During the freshman year the class is divided into groups 
of six or eight, to each of which is given a question for public discus- 
sion at the close of the fall term of the sophomore year. Each dispu- 
tant is allowed to speak twenty minutes, and has the privilege of 
reading his argument or of reciting it from memory. The young 
ladies and gentlemen enter with equal interest into this exercise. 
The discussion takes place in the presence of the students and their 
friends, and before a committee selected by the speakers. This com- 
mittee is usually chosen from the senior class, with, perhaps, one 
member from outside the college. At the close of each debate the 
committee names the best disputant in the division regardless of his 
elocution, and, after all the divisions have spoken, names the eight 
best disputants in the class, whether they took the prize in their own 



BATES COLLEGE. 155 

division or not, to participate in the champion debate, which consti- 
tutes one of the exercises of commencement Aveek. Care is taken to 
have all the questions discussed worthy of the students' study. a Out 
of a list of subjects presented by the professor in charge of the exer- 
cise the students choose one to their taste. 

The rhetorical exercises of the freshmen and sophomore classes 
include essays and public prize declamations. Three essays a term, 
or their equivalent, must be prepared. The members of both classes 
receive a private drill in speaking, preparatory to taking part in the 
public declamation. Each of the juniors debates without notes before 
the class, writes themes, and prepares an original declamation for a 
public prize contest. The declamation is read before a committee who 
designate the twelve best speakers to compete during commencement 
week for a first and second prize. The rhetorical work of the senior 
year consists of essays, criticisms, literary and philosophical papers, 
and orations. At the close of the spring term a senior exhibition is 
given by twelve representative speakers selected in the same manner 
as the contestants for the junior prize. 

V. Outside lectures. — It has come to be a custom of the college to 
secure from distinguished scholars, teachers, and divines a yearly 
course of lectures before the students. Some of New England's ablest 
thinkers and leaders of thought have been heard in this way. These 
lectures are made free to the public and are highly appreciated by the 
scholarly element of Lewiston and Auburn, as well as by those for 
whom they are more immediately intended. Among those who have 
been heard are John Fiske, Edwin D. Mead, Phillips Brooks, Edward 
Everett Hale, Alexander McKenzie, Ruen Thomas, Prof. C. W. Emer- 
son, ex-President Hill, of Harvard. In 1889 Rev. Selah Merrill, D. D., 
gave a course of six lectures on Palestine. It has generally been by 
the courtesy and generous consideration of these eminent men that 
the students have had the privilege of listening to their counsels. 

VI. Morals and religion. — The college requires attendance at church 
once each Sabbath wherever the student may elect to go; also daily 
morning prayers in the chapel, after the first recitation, and at the 
public services on the Day of Prayer for Colleges. 

The students sustain a Y. M. C. A. and a Y. W. C. A., the two form- 
ing a Christian Union for a general social meeting on Wednesday 
evening, and at other times holding meetings by themselves. Class 
prayer meetings, with more or less regularity, are also maintained. 
By reason of these and other direct Christian agencies a pure^ moral, 

«Some of the questions discussed have been: " The tariff; " " State v. denomi- 
national colleges;" ''Bismarck, or Gladstone;" "English civil service for the 
United States;" "Correctness of the popular estimation of Bacon;" " How to 
solve the Indian problem; " " Ought a canal across the Isthmus to be built by the 
United States? " " Has England or Germany exerted the greater influence on civ- 
ilization?" For 1895 the question was: "Did Bismarck do more for German 
unity than Cavour for Italian unity? " 



156 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

and religious atmosphere has from the first pervaded the institution. 
In guarding the moral character of the college, the faculty have not. 
hesitated to be "paternal" to the extent of promptly dismissing any 
student disposed to spread moral contamination among his associates. 
Temperance, interpreted to mean total abstinence, is universally prev- 
alent in the college and, what is possibly more significant, the use of 
tobacco, while not prohibited by the government, is, by the students' 
own act, reduced to a minimum when not altogether discarded. At 
the present time it is believed that not one of the students is addicted 
to its use. The benefit of a scholarship carries with it a pledge from 
the student of abstinence from tobacco. 

VII. Relation of the faculty to the students. — The personal interest 
of the faculty in the students is made possible by the size of the 
classes, and can be mentioned as one of the striking features of the 
college. Any student is invited to consult freely with the faculty on 
whatever concerns his welfare as a member of the college. The old- 
time barriers between professors and students have here never been 
allowed to exist. The result is that the student, perceiving that he is 
an object of individual interest to his teachers, feels at liberty to seek 
their advice in respect to his studies or to ask aid in his endeavors to 
get a situation to teach or work. Thus the faculty come to know the 
moral as well as the intellectual bent of the students, and an oppor- 
tunity is given for mingling any word of caution, reproof, or commen- 
dation with the favor shown. The good offices of the faculty are 
especially sought as graduation draws near by those intending to 
teach. It is very natural, too, that students thus trained in college 
to seek advice from the faculty should not be restrained from looking 
to them at any later time for their counsel or influence. 

THE ALUMNI. 

Twenty-nine classes, numbering in all 579 members, have been 
graduated by Bates. The first class, of 1867, consisted of 8; the last, 
of 1895, of 33. Assuming the average age of the students at gradua- 
tion to be 23 years, the members of the oldest class would now be in 
their fifty-second year. The first eleven classes graduated 150; that 
is more than one-fourth of the entire alumni. The remaining three- 
fourths, therefore, would not yet have passed their forty- first year. 
Thirteen more than one-half of the alumni have graduated in the last 
ten years; hence one-half of the whole number would not yet have 
passed their thirty-third year. These figures show the youth of the 
college, and make it plain that but few of its alumni can have arrived 
at the period when distinction usually comes to men. The graduates 
of Bates are not too young to have successfully entered upon the pur- 
suits of life, but are too young, to any wide extent, to have carried off 
its highest honors. 



BATES COLLEGE. 157 

Interpreted by the callings selected, the alumni may claim to have 
been drawn to positions of usefulness rather than to those promising 
renown. More than 40 per cent have become teachers, and not a few 
teachers of a superior order. Accustomed to teach while in college, 
on leaving it many of them find that their experience and attainments 
can at once be turned to a good account for .a while, at least, in this 
line of work. Thus it has come about that more city high schools in 
New England are now taught by graduates of Bates than by those of 
any other college. Three of the alumni are teachers in Boston, 1 in 
the Institute of Technology, 3 in Washington, 1 at Harvard, 9 in other 
colleges. One is president of Bates, 1 is president of a State univer- 
sity, 1 is a professor in a theological school, 15 are professors in col- 
leges, and others are found scattered through the schools of 21 States 
of the Union. One hundred and ninety-four have become teachers. 

Omitting the alumnae, although the second young woman to gradu- 
ate from the college became and still is a preacher, about 17 per 
cent of the graduates have chosen the ministry, or 85 in all. Of 
these, 50 have entered the Free Baptist ministry, 20 the Congrega- 
tional, and 15 that of other bodies. In the first decade 23 per cent, in 
the second only 13 per cent, of the alumni devoted themselves to this 
sacred calling — a serious decline, although one shared in common 
with the other New England colleges of our day. Of the remainder 
of the alumni, 17 per cent, or 85 in all, have chosen the law, 12 per 
cent medicine, the rest architecture, civil engineering, journalism, 
and other avocations. 

The loyalty of the alumni of a college may be taken for granted. 
The feeling means a continuance of a spirit strongly developed in 
undergraduate days, pleasant recollections of college life, an intelli- 
gent appreciation of the workers and the work for which the college 
stands, a grateful sense of indebtedness to the institution for personal 
benefits to mind and character received. Bates has often been grati- 
fied to find that, after association with graduates of other colleges in 
professional schools and other places, her alumni have been moved to 
affirm their satisfaction with the course of study, instruction, disci- 
pline, and spirit of their alma mater. 

Alumni associations. — Wherever found located in sufficient num- 
bers, the alumni of Bates have followed the example of those of older 
institutions in organizing associations for fostering the interests of the 
college and promoting the fellowship of its representatives. Of these 
associations, the most important is the chartered body embracing all 
the graduates, and holding its annual meeting at Lewiston during 
commencement week. Wednesday evening is regularly appropriated 
for such literary exercises as it may provide. The association is also 
empowered to nominate two of its members for a place on the board 
of overseers — two of the five persons annually elected to that board. 



158 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

The acquaintance of the alumni with the internal affairs of the 
college can hardly be equaled by that of the other members of the 
corporation, and hence the influence of the alumni on the manage- 
ment of the college seems destined to be increasingly controlling and 
valuable as their years, along with those of the college, ripen into 
maturity. , 

A NEW ADMINISTRATION. 

One of the most important meetings of the college government, in 
recent years, was held in June, 1894. At that time not onty were the 
changes introduced into the faculty that have been mentioned else- 
where, but a change took place in the presidency of the college. 
President Cheney, after long years of service, resigned his office. To 
him Maine State Seminary owed its existence, though not to him 
alone. To him the college owed its existence more than to any other 
man. To him also was due the rise in connection with the college of 
Cobb Divinity School. No man in Maine in this generation has done 
so wide a work for liberal Christian education as President Cheney. 

Prof. George C. Chase, who had been connected with the college 
since 1872 as one of its most successful teachers, and who, in the 
period of storm and stress, came to the rescue of the imperiled insti- 
tution and secured the funds without which it could not have con- 
tinued, a man of recognized ability, scholarly tastes and acquirements, 
was elected as successor to President Cheney. The formal induction 
into office took place September 22, 1894. Coming to his position 
with a ripe experience and in the maturity of his powers, President 
Chase possesses in a high degree the qualities that guarantee, with 
the blessing of God, an administration of continued prosperity to the 
college. 

PRESENT CONDITION. 

The college corporation maintains three distinct departments of 
educational work — the Latin school, with 7 instructors and 89 stu- 
dents; the divinity school, with a faculty of 6, and 20 students; the 
college proper, with a faculty of 10 professors and instructors and 190 
students. 

For the support of these schools the corporation, in addition to the 
annual donations received and the income from room rents and 
tuition, has about $300,000 of productive funds and $200,000 non- 
productive. 

Thus, well organized, respectably equipped and endowed, with the 
confidence of the public and a reputation for scholarship secured, 
with a largely increasing circle of friends, and a faculty whose char- 
acter is best portrayed by this record of results achieved, Bates Col- 
lege may be said to have passed the difficulties encountered at its 
birth and to have fairly started on its career of service for education 
and religion, humanity and native land. 



Chapter VII. 

THE UNIVERSITY OF MAINE. 1 



By President M. C. Fernald, Ph. D. 



ORIGIN. 



In common with most other colleges of its class in the United States, 
the Maine State College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts had 
its origin in the well-known act of Congress providing for the estab- 
lishment of the land-grant colleges, approved by President Lincoln 
July 2, 1862. The first session of the legislature of Maine after the 
passage of the act was in the winter of 1862-63. The late Hon. Abner 
Coburn, whose name is so intimately and beneficently associated with 
the entire history of this college, was governor of the State. In his 
opening message to the legislature he called attention to the act with 
characteristic brevity, as follows: "There can be no doubt, I think, 
that vast benefit will flow from this act, and I have no hesitation in 
urging upon you the prompt acceptance of its terms and conditions. " 
Now that the subject was before the legislature, the question of accept- 
ance was the first to confront its members. It was a new problem. 
The average legislator approached it warily. The State board of 
agriculture favored acceptance. The gift tendered the State was 
prospectively valuable, and must not be lost by default. The legis- 
lature voted to accept the grant. This was an important step, because 
such acceptance pledged the State to the support of at least one col- 
lege to "promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial 
classes." A resolution was passed providing for the appointment of 
thirteen "regents" to devise measures for carrying out the purposes 
of the land-grant act, and a joint convention of the two branches of 
the legislature assembled to appoint the regents. The convention 
appointed a committee of one from each county to designate suitable 

1 In the sketch of the early conditions of the college , fjrior to the admission of 
students, the writer has drawn freely, by permission, from an historical address 
given by Hon. Lyndon Oak, June 26, 1888, on the occasion of the dedication of 
Coburn Hall. In the latter part of this sketch he has drawn freely from an article 
published by himself in the New England Magazine for April-May, 1887. 

159 



160 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

persons for the regency, and adjourned to meet on the following day. 
It met in pursuance of the adjournment, but failed to accomplish the 
purpose of the meeting. 

At the opening of the legislative session of 1864, Governor Cony 
gave his views upon the scope and importance of the new educational 
scheme, as follows : 

While among the sciences to be taught it is declared that the leading object is 
to teach those relating to agriculture and the mechanic arts, the language of the 
act making the grant, declaring specifically that it is not its purpose to exclude 
other sciences, is pregnant with the conclusion that the design was to establish 
institutions of learning of the highest order, for its scope is as comprehensive as 
its whole design is liberal. 

The legislature of 1864, like its predecessor, refrained from an 
exhibition of unseemly haste to grapple with the problems connected 
with the new college. A resolve was approved March 24, near the 
close of the session, authorizing the governor to dispose of the land 
scrip granted by the National Government for the establishment of 
the college. It also passed a resolve, approved March 25, authorizing 
the governor and council to appoint three commissioners, whose duty 
it should be to memorialize Congress for an extension of the time 
during which the college might be established; also to receive dona- 
tions and benefactions in aid of said college; also to receive proposals 
for the location thereof; also to confer with States engaged in the 
same enterprise, and report thereon to the next legislature. The 
commissioners appointed by virtue of this resolve were William G. 
Crosby, Joseph Eaton, and Samuel F. Perley. They prepared a 
voluminous report, which was dated December 19, 1864. It came 
before the legislature early in the session of 1865, and was referred 
to the joint special committee on agriculture. It afforded the occa- 
sion for earnest and protracted discussion. The question of absorb- 
ing interest was, Shall the institution be connected with an existing 
institution, or shall it be independent? It must have a habitation 
and a name. The name would come easily enough, but, if estab- 
lished on an independent basis, how could the funds required to 
construct the necessary buildings be obtained? The land-grant act 
forbade the use of any portion of the funds derived from the sale of 
lands, or the interest thereon, directly or indirectly, for the purchase, 
erection, preservation, or repair of any building or buildings. It was 
assumed that, in consideration of the extraordinary drafts upon the 
State treasury, necessitated by the war then in progress, aid from the 
State must not be expected or even asked. There was no reckless 
haste to tender the necessary funds by individuals. In view of these 
adverse conditions, many of the friends of the college naturally looked 
to existing colleges for the solution of this difficult problem. 

Governor Coburn had said in 1863: "It may be expedient, and, 
indeed, absolutely necessary, to allow some of our existing institu- 



THE UNIVERSITY OF MAINE. 161 

tions to avail themselves of the benefit of the grant." Governor Cony 
had said in 1864: "Without the slightest preference as to what insti- 
tution shall be selected with which to connect the agricultural college, 
my convictions are very decided that it is expedient to adopt some 
one of them." 

In 1865 the commissioners referred to above came to the front with 
the recommendation to connect the new institution with Bowdoin 
College. On the other hand, the State board of agriculture, an organi- 
zation of great influence, arrayed itself strongly in opposition to con- 
nection with any existing institution. This body had resolved in 
1863 "that the college indicated by the act of Congress is essentially 
unlike existing colleges in the State," and "that it should not be incor- 
porated with any of the existing institutions of the State." The board 
maintained this position without wavering through all the discus- 
sions that followed, and was supported by the leading agriculturists of 
of the State. Its most powerful ally, however, was the Maine Farmer, 
which had a large circulation, and was edited by the veteran, Dr. 
Ezekiel Holmes, who bore a conspicuous part in the discussions that 
folio vyed before the joint special committee on agriculture, and, 
through the paper of which he was editor, before the public. 

PROPOSITIONS OF WATERVILLE COLLEGE AND OF BOWDOIN COLLEGE. 

During the legislative session of 1863 a proposition was submitted 
by Waterville College to the effect that the national donation of lands 
should be transferred to that institution, which, in consideration of 
the transfer, was ready to stipulate that two additional professor- 
ships should be established, and a specified number of students should 
be instructed in applied chemistry, civil engineering, and other 
blanches of learning more or less closely connected with agriculture, 
without charge for tuition. This proposition did not meet with favor. 
When the question whether to unite the new college with one of the 
existing institutions of the State or maintain it on an independent 
basis was under consideration by the legislative committee in 1865, 
Waterville College appeared before the committee in the person of its 
able president, Dr. Champlin, with a second plan, of which a brief 
abstract is given. This plan or proposition contemplated the organ- 
izing of an educational circuit, to carry out the purposes of which 
three professorships were to be established — at Bowdoin a professor- 
ship of chemistry applied to agriculture and the arts, at Waterville a. 
professorship of engineering or of mathematics applied to the mechanic 
and other practical arts, and at Bates a professorship of agricultural 
zoology and veterinary science, including the anatomy, physiology, 
and pathology of animals. The funds realized by the sale of the 
lands were to be held by the State, and 25 per cent of the income 
was to be devoted to the support of each professorship. The remain- 

10324— No. 3—03 11 



162 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

ing 25 per cent was to be expended partly to pay cost of experiments 
and partly to pay for lectures, to be given alternately at the three 
colleges. 

Bowdoin's plan was presented by its learned and venerable presi- 
dent, Dr. Leonard Woods. Briefly stated, it proposed that the lands 
granted by the National Government should be transferred and 
assigned in trust to Bowdoin College; that the college should estab- 
lish an institution separate and distinct from all others; that it should 
put the institution in operation within the time limited by the act of 
Congress, and should perform, without expense to the State, all the 
obligations assumed by it in accepting said grant. It was to supply 
all necessary instruction, provide the necessary philosophical and 
chemical apparatus, cabinets of specimens in geology, botany, min- 
eralogy, and comparative anatomy, and to allow the students the use 
of the apparatus and collections already belonging to the college, and 
under certain conditions the use of the public libraries of the college. 
It proposed to provide a building equal in style and similar in plan to 
that of the Maine Medical College, land for an experimental farm and 
botanical gardens, a gymnasium, and a campus for military drill. 

DECISION IN FAVOR OF AN INDEPENDENT INSTITUTION. 

In view of the dubious prospects of obtaining funds for the con- 
struction of buildings, and for other purposes, should the college be 
established on an independent basis, the propositions of the two insti- 
tutions received full consideration by the committee. The plan of 
uniting the new college with any other was opposed by man} T on the 
ground that the main purpose of the land-grant act, " to promote the 
liberal and practical education of the industrial classes," would thus 
be largely defeated. The friends of an independent establishment 
of the college were ably represented before the committee. The senti- 
ment of the board of agriculture, as before stated, had been decidedly 
averse to a connection with any existing institution from first to last, 
and this sentiment had great weight in the final decision. Conspicuous 
among those who favored an independent institution were the able 
secretary of the board of agriculture, Hon. S. L. Goodale, Hon. Phineas 
Barnes, and Dr. Ezekiel Holmes. Dr. Holmes maintained with great 
earnestness that in order to fill in any reasonable degree the measure 
of usefulness of which it was capable the institution must be abso- 
lutely unhampered by any connection with any existing institution — 
"a tub on its own bottom." In one of his speeches before the com- 
mittee he exclaimed that "the farmers of Maine, after having desired 
this thing so long, and hoped for it so long, and prayed for it so long, 
and waited for it so long, were not now going to sell their birthright 
for a mess of pottage." At the close of the last of the several hear- 
ings, the committee voted to report in favor of establishing an inde- 



THE UNIVERSITY OF MAINE. 163 

pendent institution. A bill for its organization had been carefully 
and ably prepared by Hon. Phineas Barnes, of Portland, which was 
also reported. When the report of the committee reached the legis- 
lature a recess of half an hour was taken by both branches to enable 
each county delegation to select a suitable person to represent its 
county in the board of trustees. The persons selected were Samuel 
F. Perley, N. T. Hill, Bradford Cu minings, Thomas S. Lang, Dennis 
Moore, William D. Dana, S. L. Goodale, Robert Martin, Alfred S. 
Perkins, Joseph Farwell, Seward Dill, Joseph Day, Ebenezer Knowl- 
ton, Hannibal Hamlin, Charles A. Everett, and William Wirt Virgin. 
These names were inserted in the first section of the organic act, and 
the bill passed both branches in due course and received the approval 
of Governor Cony. The first meeting of the trustees was held at the 
statehouse in Augusta on the 25th of April, 1865, and the board was 
organized by the choice of S. L. Goodale, clerk; Hannibal Hamlin, 
president of the board, and Phineas Barnes, treasurer. 

LOCATION. 

The trustees entered upon the discharge of their duties under con- 
ditions of the most discouraging character. The State had placed no 
funds at their disposal for the construction of buildings and other 
necessary purposes. 

They made an earnest appeal to the public for contributions, but 
the public did not respond. They had another problem of great diffi- 
culty and delicacy to deal with, that of location. W ith reference 
to this they examined lands at Tog us and Topsham, the Ta'ylor farm 
at Fairfield, the Nburse farm at Orrington, and the White and Frost 
farms at Orono. The western members had a very decided preference 
for Topsham. At a meeting of the board held at Augusta, Septem- 
ber 14, 1865, a motion to locate the college at Topsham was lost by a 
vote of 6 to 5. At a meeting at Augusta, January 25, 1866, the board 
voted to locate at Orono, the vote standing 8 in favor and 7 in oppo- 
sition. The site selected has proven advantageous in location and 
attractive in surroundings. The farm on which the college is situated 
borders on the Stillwater River, a branch of the Penobscot, 1 mile from 
the pleasant village of Orono and 9 miles from the thriving city of 
Bangor. It embraces 376 acres of land, affording a variety of soil for 
experimental purposes. This farm — originally consisting of two 
farms, now united into one — costing $11,000, was given to the State 
by the towns of Orono and Oldtown. 

REDUCTION IN THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES. 

The divided sentiment among the members of the board of trustees 
relative to the location of the college served as a disintegrating force 



164 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

in this body. At a meeting held at Augusta, January 29, 18G7, the 
following petition was signed by all the members present, 10 in 
number: 

The undersigned trustees of the State College of Agriculture and the Mechanic 
Arts, respectfully represent that, in their opinion, the number of the members of 
the board should be less than it now is, and ask that the number be reduced to 
not less than 5 nor more than 7. They would suggest that the new board of 
trustees be appointed by the governor and council, and with regard to fitness 
rather than locality. They also indicate their readiness to retire from the position 
now held by them for the purpose above indicated. 

The petition was promptly responded to by the legislature, and a 
bill embodying its requests was passed. The original board of trustees 
having retired, a new board was appointed, consisting of Rev. S. F. 
Dike, Hon. Abner Coburn, Hon. Lyndon Oak, Hon. Isaiah Stetson, 
Hon. William P. Wingate, Hon. George P. Sewall, and Hon. Nathaniel 
Wilson. Its organization was effected at Bangor, April 24, 1867, by 
the choice of Abner Coburn, president, S. L. Goodale, clerk, and 
Isaiah Stetson, treasurer. 

EARLY CONDITIONS. 

The new board of trustees entered upon its duties under numerous 
and serious disadvantages: A majority of its members had given the 
new educational scheme but little thought or study; when they came 
together the first time they came as entire strangers to one another 
in relation to the matter in hand ; there was but little in the experi- 
ence of the past to guide them; the results sought were far different 
from those attained by existing institutions, and could be reached 
only by methods differing from theirs ; there were no models for imi- 
tation; institutions in other States having a common origin were also 
groping in the dark. 

On the other hand, there were favoring circumstances : The difficult 
and vexatious question of location had been settled ; the board of trus- 
tees had been reduced to a small and compact bod}- ; the theory that the 
money needed for the construction of buildings and for ordinary cur- 
rent expenses could be raised by subscription had been exploded, and 
the State had placed $20,000 at the disposal of the new board. The 
trustees made their first visit to the site of the institution May 16, 
1867, where they found two sets of farm buildings much out of repair. 
These were repaired and made useful — one for the first professor, the 
other as a temporary residence for the farm superintendent. It was 
also decided to construct a wooden building whose roof should cover 
18 rooms of suitable size and finish for students. Wingate Hall, 
with its spacious rooms, was constructed in pursuance of this decision, 
and although not completed until the following year, it was ready for 
occupancy as soon as needed. During the year 1867 there was fre- 
quent discussion in the board upon the policy that should be pursued 



THE UNIVEESITY OF MAINE. 165 

in the construction of buildings as they should be needed, one after 
another. There was a sentiment, more or less prevalent, that inex- 
pensive wooden buildings should be provided at first, to be followed 
by more substantial structures later, when the college could better 
afford the expense. The policy determined on, however, was to con- 
struct thoroughly and of durable material so far as the work of con- 
struction should be carried. This policy has been pursued in the 
construction of the principal buildings on the college campus. 

OPENING OF THE COLLEGE TO STUDENTS — EARLY HISTORY. 

The first class, numbering 12 students, was admitted September 14, 
1868. Samuel Johnson, A. M., had been chosen farm superintendent 
and instructor in agriculture, and Merritt C. Fernald, A. M., professor 
of mathematics. With this small force of faculty and pupils the col- 
lege entered upon the first term of its organized existence, Mr. 
Johnson attending to the duties of the farm and to instruction in 
farm processes, and Professor Fernald to the duties of the class room. 
In the service of instruction one of the memorable events of the first 
year was a course of lectures on physiology by the late Dr. Calvin 
Cutter, of Massachusetts. At the beginning of the second year 
Stephen F. Peckham, A. M., of Rhode Island, was added to the faculty 
in the capacity of professor of chemistry. A little later Mr. John 
Swift, a graduate of the Agricultural College of Michigan, became 
instructor in botany and horticulture. In the formative period of the 
college, before the several departments were filled with permanent 
officers, lecturers were called in, as occasion arose, to give instruction 
on special topics. Additions were thus frequently made to the force 
of instruction, so that by the close of the year 1870 no less than 11 
different individuals were connected in one capacity or another with 
the faculty, as shown by the catalogue issued with the college report 
for that year. The catalogue bears date January, 1871. From it the 
following list of instructors is copied : 

FACULTY. 

Merritt C. Fernald, A. M., acting president, professor of mathematics and 
physics. 
Samuel Johnson, A. M., farm superintendent and instructor in agriculture. 
Stephen F. Peckham, A. M., professor of chemistry. 
John Swift, B. S., instructor in botany and horticulture. 
Mrs. Mary L. Fernald, instructor in French and German. 
Calvin Cutter, M. D., lecturer on anatomy, physiology, and hygiene. 
Corydon B. Lakin, instructor in bookkeeping and commercial forms. 
X. A. Willard, A, M., lecturer on dairy farming. 
A. S. Packard, M. D., lecturer on useful and injurious insects. 
James J. H. Gregory, A. M., lecturer on market farming and gardening. 
Prof. E. S. Morse, lecturer on comparative anatomy and zoology. 

Military instruction (required by the endowment act) had been 
given by Capt. Henry E. Sellers, of Bangor. 



106 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

Hitherto the college could not be regarded as resting on a secure 
basis, inasmuch as the title to the college grounds and the buildings 
upon them had been in controversy. The deed conveying to the State 
the farms presented by the towns of Orono and Oldtown as a site for 
the college contained a reversion clause by which, under certain con- 
ditions, the property might be lost to the State. This clause was not 
satisfactory to the legislature, and early in 1869, in granting an appro- 
priation of $28,000 to the college, the vote was accompanied by a pro- 
vision that the reversion clause should be so changed that the title to 
the property should be valid in the State. The required change was 
not made in 18G9; the money appropriated could not be drawn, but 
reverted to the State treasury. Early in 1870 the sum of $28,000 was 
appropriated by the legislature, with $22,000 additional, making the 
total appropriation $50,000, but conditioned upon the same change of 
deed as was required the previous year. Before the close of 1870 the 
necessary change of title had been effected, the money had been 
drawn, and the work of construction of needed buildings was rapidly 
going forward. By the end of the third college year (i. e., August, 
1871) the chemical laboratory had been completed, the large dormi- 
tory, Oak Hall, had been constructed, and the boarding house, with 
its commodious dining hall, was ready for the reception of students. 

The three years from 1868 to 1871 constituted the most trying period 
in the history of this institution. At their close questions of title 
and of the permanency of the institution, which had been so embar- 
rassing to trustees and faculty, were now, happily, questions of the 
past. A new and more auspicious era seemed to be dawning upon 
the struggling college. 

CHANGES IN THE FACULTY. 

At this point in the history of the college Mr. Fernald, who, chosen 
to a professorship, had served also as acting president during the 
three years under notice, requested relief from the executive duties. 
This relief was granted and a reorganization of the faculty effected, 
so that at the beginning of the next college year it was constituted 
as shown below : 

Rev. Charles F. Allen, D. D., president, professor of English literature and 
mental and moral science. 
Merritt C. Fernald, A. M., professor of mathematics and physics. 
Robert L. Packard, A. M.. professor of chemistry, French, and German. 
William A. Pike, C. E., professor of civil engineering. 
Charles H. Fernald. A. M., professor of natural history, 
Joseph R. Farrington, farm superintendent. 
X. A. Willard, A. M., lecturer on dairy farming. 

James J. H. Gregory. A. M., lecturer on market farming and gardening. 
Capt. James Deane, military instructor. 
John Per ley, instructor in bookkeeping and commercial forms. 



THE UNIVERSlTx r OF MAINE. 167 

The settled condition of the affairs of the college Avas followed by a 
considerable increase, in the number of students, the highest figures 
in this regard during the first ten years being attained in 1874-75, 
when the number catalogued was 121. Rev. Dr. Allen brought to 
his work in the college generous culture of mind and heart and an 
earnest purpose to strengthen and elevate all its departments. His 
presidency, extending from August, 1871, to the close of the year 
1878, was one of general prosperity to the college. In March, 1879, 
Professor Fernald was chosen as successor to Dr. Allen, and has held 
the position to which he was then elected since that date. From 
the beginning of President Allen's administration, in 1871, to the 
present time the changes in the faculty have been gradual, and yet 
this period of twenty- one years has sufficed to furnish new men at 
the head of every department of the college, as shown by comparing 
the composition of the faculty in 1871 with that at the present date 
[1892], as follows: 

Merritt C. Fernald, A. M., Ph. D., president, professor of mental and moral 
iscience. 

George H. Hamlin, C. E., professor of civil engineering. 

Alfred B. Aubert, M. S., professor of chemistry. 

Allen E. Rogers, A. M., professor of history, logic, and civics. 

Walter Balentine, M. S., professor of agriculture. 

Walter Flint, M. E., professor of mechanical engineering. 

Francis L. Harvey, M. S., Ph. D., professor of natural history. 

James N. Hart, C. E., professor of mathematics and astronomy. 

Howard S. Webb, B. M. E., instructor in shopwork, secretary and registrar. 

Fred P. Briggs. B. S., assistant in natural history. 

Nathan C. Grover, B. C. E., assistant in civil engineering. 

Harriet Converse Fernald, M. S., librarian. 

Welton M. Munson, M. S., professor of horticulture and landscape gardening. 

Horace M. Estabrooke, M. S. , A. M. , professor of rhetoric and modern languages. 

James S. Stevens, M. S., Ph. D., professor of physics. 

Mark L. Hersey, A. M., lieutenant, Ninth U. S. Infantry, professor of military 
science and tactics. 

Gilbert M. Gowell, instructor in practical agriculture. 

David Wilder Colby, B. S., assistant in chemistry. 

David W. Trine, B. S., assistant in horticulture. 

FIDELITY AND PERMANENCY OF TRUSTEES. 

The college has been fortunate in the fidelity and permanency of 
its trustees, if the latter term may be applied to a body of men sub- 
ject to change by annual appointment as terms of office expire. By 
way of illustration, the following examples are cited: Hon. Abner 
Coburn, of Skowhegan, was president of the board for twelve years, 
from 1867 to 1879. Hon. William P. Wingate, of Bangor, who for 
several years was president of the board, served the college faithfully 
as a trustee from 1867 to 1884, when he was precluded from reappoint- 
ment D3 r a statute limitation of age. Hon. Lyndon Oak, of Garland, 



168 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

was a member of the board continuously from 1867 to 1889, serving 
for the last five years of the period as its president. From his thor- 
ough acquaintance with the entire history of the college, and his 
sound and practical judgment, his services were invaluable. 

It has been stated that the original board consisted of sixteen mem- 
bers, one for each county in the State, and that as early as 1867 they 
all resigned to give place to a smaller board, consisting of seven mem- 
bers, appointed by the governor. In 1869 the secretary of the board 
of agriculture became by law a member, ex officio, of the board of 
trustees, and in 1883 the alumni were authorized by law to name one 
of their number for appointment on the board. The portion of the 
law relating to the secretary of the board of agriculture was repealed 
in 1889. At the present time, therefore, the board consists of eight 
members — seven appointed each for a term of seven years and one 
named for appointment by the alumni, the term of whose office is three 
years. 

COURSES OF STUDY. 

The regular courses are five in number, viz : Agriculture, civil engi- 
neering, mechanical engineering, chemistry, and science and litera- 
ture, each requiring four years for its completion. The courses in 
agriculture, chemistry, and science and literature lead to the degree 
of bachelor of science, the course in civil engineering to the degree 
of bachelor of civil engineering, and the course in mechanical engi- 
neering to the degree of bachelor of mechanical engineering. Three 
years after graduation, on proof of professional work or study and on 
presentation of a satisfactory thesis, the second or higher degree can 
be obtained. 

An outline of the several courses of study, with explanatory notes, 
is herewith submitted. 

Course in Agriculture. 

first year. 

First term. — Physiology; rhetoric (4); reading and analysis of authors (1); 
solid geometry (12 w.); algebra (4 w.); physical culture; lectures, agriculture 
and horticulture. P. M.: Free-hand drawing (2); dissecting (1); general 
history (1). 

Second term. — Botany; French; algebra (6 w.); trigonometry ( 14 w. ) ; physical 
culture; lectures, agriculture and horticulture. P. M.: Mechanical drawing (F. 
of T.); botanical laboratory work (L. of T.) (2); history (L. of T.) (1); analysis 
of authors (L. of T.) (1). 

SECOND YEAR. 

First term. — Botany (cryptogamic) ; general chemistry; French (2); German 
(3); physics. P. M.: Laboratory; laboratory physics ( 2 ) ; laboratory botany (2); 
experimental chemistry ( 1 ) . 

Second term. — Qualitative chemistry; physics: French (3); German (2). P.M.: 
Laboratory physics (2); analytical chemistry (3). 




; t-. : V 




THE UKIVEKSITY OF MAINE. 169 

THIRD YEAR. 

First terra. —German (2); horticulture (3); agricultural chemistry; inverte- 
brate zoology; English and American literature. P. M.: Horticulture (2); ana- 
lytical chemistry (3). 

Second term.— German (2); horticulture (F. of T.) (3); landscape gardening 
(L. of T.) (3); logic; entomology (F. of T.); descriptive astronomy (L. of T.); 
agricultural engineering. P.M.: Zoology and entomology (2); horticulture (1);: 
analytical chemistry (2). 

FOURTH YEAR. 

First term. — Stock feeding and dairying; comparative anatomy; psychology- 
political economy and international law. P. M.: Comparative anatomy (2); hor- 
ticulture and farm experiments (2); literary work (1). 

Second term. — Stock breeding and veterinary science; mineralogy and geology; 
United States Constitution and business law; psychology. P. M.: Thesis and 
laboratory work. 

EXPLANATORY STATEMENTS. 

In the framing of this course the design has been to fit young men to follow 
agriculture as a profession with success, never losing sight of the fact that edu- 
cation, in the truest sense, is the end to be attained. 

The curriculum of studies is largely scientific and technical, not omitting, how- 
ever, those branches that pertain to social and civil relations, and that serve to^ 
lay a broad foundation for a liberal and generous culture. 

The instruction in agriculture is given mainly by lectures, and embraces sub- 
jects of great practical importance to the farmer, which are briefly explained 
under the following heads: 

Agricultural engineering. — Agricultural engineering includes land surveying, 
the construction of roads, drainage of land, irrigation, water supply for stock and 
household, farm implements and machinery, methods of cultivation, and the 
handling of different farm crops. 

Agricultural chemistry. — Under agricultural chemistry the following topics are 
taken up: Origin, formation, and composition of soils; classification of soils and 
their physical characteristics; chemical composition of plants; sources of plant 
food; farm manures, their composition, preservation, and application; commercial 
fertilizers, their origin, composition, preparation, and use; fermentation and 
decay; the relations of the soils to heat and moisture; the mechanical conditions 
best adapted to plant growth and the objects to be gained by cultivation. 

Stock feeding. — The subject of stock feeding treats of animal nutrition; foods: 
and fodders, their composition, digestibility, and comparative values; the calcu- 
lation of rations for the various classes of farm animals and for various purposes, 
as for growth, fattening, milk production, and work. 

Dairying. — Dairying includes the study of milk secretion, the chemical and 
physical properties of milk, rennet action, milk analysis, and milk testing, and 
practical lessons in butter and cheese making. 

Botany. — Botany is taught by text-books, explanatory lectures, and practical 
laboratory work. The subject embraces general and cryptogamic botany. 

General botany considers the structure and uses of the organs of plants; the 
relation of the plant to the soil and atmosphere; the description, classification, and 
naming of plants; preparation of plants for the herbarium; the relationship of 
the more important agricultural plants, and a special study of forage plants. 
Besides the regular recitations the students have thirty hours of laboratory prac- 
tice, describing, drawing, and classifying plants, and each prepares a collection 
of fifty species. 



170 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

Cryptogamic botany embraces a detailed study of about thirty type forms of the 
prominent group of nonflowering plants. Their life history is traced in detail by 
the aid of compound microscopes and accurate drawings of them made. Special 
attention, so far as possible, is given to useful and injurious forms. Such injuri- 
ous species as blue mold, black molds, fish molds, mildews, wheat smut, corn 
smut, ergot, potato rot, black knot, etc., are especially studied and known reme- 
dies considered. Fungicides and spraying apparatus receive attention. Students 
are required to collect specimens and prepare them for the herbarium. 

Horticulture. — During the first term of the junior year instruction is given in 
vegetable gardening and fruit growing. Lectures are given concerning the con- 
struction, care, and management of greenhouses, hotbeds, and other forcing 
structures; fertilizers for the garden; the general principles of planting and cul- 
tivating; the culture of the leading vegetables in the field and under glass; meth- 
ods of propagation — grafting, budding, etc.; the culture of orchard fruits and 
small fruits; the enemies and diseases of vegetables and fruits, with preventives 
and remedies. The lectures are supplemented by practical work in the forcing 
house, and in the college gardens and fruit plantations. 

In the second term special attention is directed to the underlying principles of 
horticulture. Lectures are given concerning the laws of plant growth; the vari- 
ations of plants as affected by soil, climate, and cultivation; methods and effects 
of crossing and hybridizing; and the principles of selection. Students are required 
to spend one afternoon each week in the laboratory or in the greenhouse. 

Landscape gardening. — The object of instruction in this branch is to convey 
definite ideas concerning the ornamentation of the home grounds, the school yard, 
and the cemetery, as well as hints on the arrangement of public parks and pleas- 
ure grounds; and to encourage a taste for attractive surroundings. The course 
includes a discussion of the general principles of landscape gardening as an art, 
and special stress is laid on the practical applications of these principles. Lec- 
tures are given on the relative positions of buildings, the arrangement and con- 
struction of walks and drives, the formation and care of lawns, the selection and 
planting of ornamental trees and shrubs with directions for pruning and general 
care, the improvement of school yards and rural cemeteries. 

Zoology. — The branches studied that pertain to animal life are: Human physi- 
ology, general invertebrate zoology, comparative vertebrate zoology, entomology, 
stock breeding, and veterinary science. 

Human physiology occupies one full term. In addition to the use of a text- 
book, explanatory lectures, the examination of a skeleton, a manikin, models of 
the larynx, ear, eye, and brain, and dissections of lower animals contribute to a 
practical knowledge of the anatomy and functions of the human body. Special 
attention is given to hygiene and pathology. Two hours a week are devoted to 
laboratory work. This includes an examination of models and dissecting. 

General invertebrate zoology embraces a detailed study of type forms of all the 
branches of invertebrates. Packard's Zoology is used as a guide. Martin and 
Huxley's, Brooks's, Colton's, and Osborne's laboratory manuals are followed in 
laboratory practice so far as they apply. Students daily use the compound micro- 
scope to examine minute forms and tissues. Fresh, dried, and alcoholic mate- 
rials, charts, models, and a good working library of reference books, contribute 
to a practical knowledge. Students make dissections, careful drawings, and 
classify the forms studied. Besides a full term in recitations, 'students do forty 
hours' laboratory work. 

Comparative vertebrate zoology embraces a comparative study of type forms of 
vertebrate animals. The methods and facilities for work are the same as in 
invertebrate zoology. The college is provided with a set of Auzoux*s models and 
a good working collection of type forms. One hundred and forty-four hours in 



THE UNIVERSITY OF MAINE. 171 

recitation and laboratory work are devoted to the subject. Special attention is 
given to the zoology of the domestic animals. 

Entomology embraces a study of the anatomy, physiology, classification, and 
economic importance of insects. Packard's Entomology for beginners is used as 
a, guide. This work is preceded by a careful study of the arthropoda. Special 
attention is given to injurious and beneficial insects. Insecticides and approved 
methods of destroying insects are considered. About one hundred hours in reci- 
tations and laboratory work are devoted to this subject. 

Stock breeding and veterinary science. — Stock breeding is taken up under such, 
divisions as heredity, atavism, fecundity, in-and-in breeding, cross-breeding; and, 
connected with the teaching of this subject, studies are made of the various 
breeds of animals represented on the college farm and instruction given in the 
scaling of animals. The course of veterinary instruction includes the presenta- 
tion of the principles of the science with the practical information necessary to 
enable the student to recognize and treat the more common diseases of our domes- 
tic animals, and to meet intelligently emergencies which frequently arise among 
live stock requiring the aid of the veterinarian. 

Mineralogy embraces a careful study of the physical and chemical properties 
and blow-pipe tests of about thirty species of the more common minerals that are 
useful in the arts and sciences. Special attention is given to building materials 
and to the minerals that enter into the composition of soils or are applied to soils 
as fertilizers. Attention is given to the principles of classification and naming of 
minerals and the arrangement of cabinets. 

Geology embraces a study of the forces that are and have been at work modi- 
f3 7 ing the features of the earth, a consideration of the records these forces have 
left in the crust of the earth, and a history of the earth, or a succession of the 
events that have occurred through the agency of chemical, physical, and vital 
forces. The subject is illustrated by many mineral, rock, and fossil specimens, 
and by charts, maps, and diagrams. 

Special attention is given to the origin and formation of soils, to the method of 
conducting geological surveys, and to the geology of Maine. Excursions are 
made so far as practicable for the purpose of study in geology and natural history. 

Throughout the course the endeavor is made to inculcate established principles 
in agricultural science, and to illustrate and enforce them to the full extent 
admitted by the appliances of the laboratory and the farm. So far as possible, 
students are associated with whatever experimental work is carried on, that they 
may be better fitted to continue such work in after life. 

Those who complete this course receive instruction also in mathematics, French, 
German, English literature, logic, United States Constitution, political economy, 
and mental and moral philosophy, business law and international law, and on 
presenting satisfactory theses upon some agricultural topic are entitled to the 
degree of bachelor of science. 

SHORT COURSES IN AGRICULTURE. 

In addition to the full course in agriculture requiring four years for its comple- 
tion, short courses in agriculture are arranged to meet the wants of young men 
who desire to extend their knowledge in their chosen vocation, but who can devote 
only a limited amount of time to preparation or study. 

In order to adapt them to varying conditions of earlier acquirement and of 
time that can be given to special study, two courses are offered, one extending 
over a period of two college years and the other over a single year of thirty-six 
weeks. Both are designed to be intensely practical. While the former affords 
the wider range of study and practice, the latter in its narrower range offers also 
a plan of systematic study of prominent and important agricultural subjects. 



1< V 2 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

Outline of course of two years in agriculture. 

FIRST YEAR. 

First term. — Structural and physiological botany; general chemistry; farm 
accounts and rural and business law; plane geometry, or agricultural physics. 

Second term. — Plant analysis and horticulture; agricultural chemistry; drain- 
age and road construction; plane trigonometry and surveying, or entomology. 

SECOND YEAR. 

First term. — Horticulture; agricultural chemistry; animal anatomy and physi- 
ology; political economy. 

Second term. — Stock feeding and dairying; stock breeding and veterinary 
science; civil government; geology and meteorology. 

Outline of course of one year in agriculture. 

First term. — Botany and horticulture; general and agricultural chemistry; 
animal anatomy and physiology; farm accounts and rural and business law. 

Second term. — Plant analysis and horticulture; agricultural chemistry; stock 
feeding and dairying; stock breeding and veterinary science. 

REQUIREMENTS, CERTIFICATES. 

Students in these short courses should be at least 16 years of age and have a 
good common-school education. While no formal entrance examination is 
required, the professor in charge will satisfy himself of the fitness of candidates 
to pursue the course selected with success. Young men considerably older than 
the minimum age named, and who have a practical knowledge of farming, will 
find one of these short courses especially valuable. 

Certificates will be given those completing either of the courses successfully 
and passing a satisfactory examination. Certificates will also be given on comple- 
tion of the practical course in dairying, for which arrangements have also been 
made. 

Course in Civil Engineering. 

first year. 

First term. — Solid geometry (12 w.); algebra (4w.): rhetoric (4); reading and 
analysis of authors (1); physiology; physical culture; lectures, agriculture and 
horticulture. P.M.: Free-hand drawing (2); dissecting (1); general history (1). 

Second term. — Algebra (6 w.) ; trigonometry (14 w. ) ; botany; French; physical 
culture; lectures, agriculture and horticulture. P. M.; Mechanical drawing (F. 
ofT.); laboratory botany (L. of T.) (2); history (L. of T.) (1); analysis of authors 
(L. ofT.)(l). 

SECOND YEAR. 

First term. — Descriptive geometry; general chemistry; French (2) ; German (3) ; 
physics. P. M.: Laboratory physics (2); mechanical drawing (3). 

Second term. — Analytical geometry; descriptive geometry (F. of T.); surveying 
(L. of T.); physics; French (3); German (2). P. M.: Laboratory physics (2): 
analytical chemistry (F. of T.) (3); field work in surveying (L. of T.) (3). 

THIRD YEAR. 

First term. — Calculus (3); German (2); Field book and railroad surveying. 
P. M.: Field work and drawing, or field work and drawing (3); laboratory phys- 
ics (2). 



THE UNIVERSITY OF MAINE. 173 

Second term. — Calculus (F. of T.); descriptive astronomy (L. of T.); mechanics 
of engineering (F. of T.); graphic statics (L. of T.); German (2); logic. P. M.: 
Isometric and cabinet projection, or laboratory physics (2) ; isometric and cabinet 
projection (3). 

FOURTH YEAR. 

First term. — Civil engineering; stereotomy (F. of T.); sanitary engineering (L. 
of T,); practical astronomy; political economy and international law. P. M.: 
Higher surveying. 

Second term. — Civil engineering; designing; United States Constitution and 
business law; geology and mineralogy. P. M.: Designing and thesis work. 

EXPLANATORY STATEMENTS. 

The object of this course is to give the student a thorough knowledge of higher 
mathematics, mechanics, astronomy, and drawing, and at the same time a thor- 
ough drill in the use and care of the ordinary engineering instruments and in the 
application of mathematical principles and rules, so that the graduate can at 
once apply himself to engineering work and be fitted, after a limited amount of 
experience in the field, to fill positions of importance and trust. The course also 
affords the education required to prepare the graduate for a responsible position 
among men as well as among engineers. 

The work is identical with that of the other courses during the first year. Dur- 
ing the fall term of the sophomore year students in this course work six hours 
each week on mechanical drawing and four hours in the physical laboratory. In 
the first part of the last term of this year the afternoons are given to physical and 
chemical laboratory practice, each student devoting ten hours per week to the 
laboratories. During the last part of this term the subject of land surveying is 
taken up, four hours each week being devoted to recitation work and three after- 
noons or one whole day each week being given to practical surveying in the field, 
where the student becomes familiar with the use and proper care of the instru- 
ments and puts into practice the problems of the text-book so far as is possible in 
actual surveys. 

During the first term of the junior year the subject of railroad surveying is 
taken up by means of lectures and recitations. From these the student obtains a 
knowledge of the theory of railroad curves, switches, turn-outs, slope-stakes, the 
calculation of earthwork, leveling, resistance to trains offered by grades and 
curves, and the construction of country roads, streets, and pavements. The 
methods of the class room, so far as possible, are applied in the field by the execu- 
tion of the preliminary and final surveys of a railroad from the college buildings 
to some point on the Maine Central Railroad, together with the necessary draw- 
ings, calculations of earthwork, and estimate of the cost of building and 
equipping. 

The subject of applied mechanics is taken up the last term of this year. In 
this the students receive a thorough training in the principles underlying construc- 
tion, illustrated as far as possible by practical examples, in which these principles 
are applied. During this term each student in the class works two hours each 
day in the drawing room, where isometric, cabinet, and perspective projection is 
taken up by means of lectures and problems drawn by the students. 

During the first term of the senior year an extended topographical survey, with 
the plane table and stadia measurements, is made, based upon a previous trigo- 
nometrical determination of the principal points. During this term the students 
are also taught the use of the current meter, and apply their knowledge in the 
actual measurement of the volume of the Stillwater River. 

In the recitation room, during this term, the principles of hydraulics as applied 



174 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

in engineering practice are taken up by means of lectures. The strength of mate- 
rials, their durability, preservation, and fitness for special purposes, and the 
theories of tics, struts, beams, and arches are fully treated. 

Stonecutting is taken up this term by lectures and practical problems, each 
student being- required to make a complete set of working drawings of the most 
common forms of masonry arches. 

Six weeks are devoted to sanitary engineering, special attention being given to 
ventilation, heating, purity of water supply, and the proper drainage of houses 
and towns. 

The first part of the last term of this year is devoted to the theory cf founda- 
tions, retaining walls, and roof and bridge trusses, while the last part is given 
to the application of the principles already learned, to the designing and calcula- 
tion of various kinds of engineering structures, and to making out estimates and 
specifications. 

M i n eralogy and geology. — Mineralogy is taught by an introductory course of 
lectures, followed by laboratory practice in the determination of minerals and 
rocks, especial attention being given to their value for building purposes. This 
is immediately followed by a course of lectures in geology, together with excur- 
sions for the purpose of studying the rocks in situ, and also superficial deposits. 
Critical examinations are made in various railroad cuts of the hardness, slaty 
structure, jointed structure, etc., as bearing upon the cost of excavation. 

Astronomy. — In the last part of the spring term, descriptive astronomy is taken 
by the students of the junior class, and practical astronomy in the first term, 
senior year. 

The course in practical astronomy is designed to enable students to determine 
with accuracy geographical positions. The principal instruments employed are 
the chronometer, sextant, transit, and for work of precision, the Repsold vertical 
circle, an instrument made in Hamburg, Germany, for this institution. Practical 
instruction is given in the use of these instruments and in the most approved 
methods of reducing observations for the determination of latitude and longitude. 

Students in this department on the completion of the full course and the pre- 
sentation of a satisfactory thesis receive the degree of bachelor of civil engineer- 
ing. Three years later, on proof of professional work and the presentation of a 
satisfactory thesis the degree of civil engineer is conferred. 

Course in Mechanical Engineering, 
first year. 

First term.— Solid geometry (12 w.); algebra (4 w.); rhetoric (4); reading 
and analysis of authors (1); physiology; physical culture; lectures, agricul- 
ture and horticulture. P. M.: Free-hand drawing (2), dissecting (1); general 
history (1). 

Second term. — Algebra (6 w.); trigonometry (14 w.); botany, French; physical 
culture; lectures, agriculture and horticulture. P. M.: Mechanical drawing (F. 
ofT.); laboratory botany (L. of T.) (2); history (L. of T.) (1); analysis of authors 
(L. of T.) (1). 

SECOND YEAR. 

First term. — Descriptive geometry; general chemistry; French (2); German (3); 
physics. P. M.: Carpentry (3); laboratory physics (2). 

Second term. — Analytical geometry; descriptive geometry (F. of T.); mechan- 
ical drawing (L. of T.); physics; French (3); German (2). P. M.: Laboratory 
physics (2); forge work (3). 



THE UNIVERSITY OF MAINE. 175 

THIRD YEAR. 

First term. — Calculus (3); link and valve motion (2); German (2); mechanics 
(3); kinematics. P. M.: Machine work (3); laboratory physics or shop work (2). 

Second term. — Calculus (F. of T.); descriptive astronomy (L. of T.); isometric 
and cabinet projection and machine design (3); German (2); logic; mechanics. 
P. M.: Machine work (3); laboratory physics or shop work (2). 

FOURTH YEAR. 

First term. — Steam engine; practical astronomy; political economy and inter- 
national law. P. M.: Mechanical drawing. 

Second term. — Hydraulic engineering; steam engineering; United States Con- 
stitution and business law; geology and mineralogy. P. M.: Machine designing 
and thesis work. 

EXPLANATORY STATEMENTS. 

It is the design of this course to give such a knowledge of mathematics, 
mechanics, principles of mechanism, drawing, and manual art as shall enable the 
student successfully to enter practical life as an engineer with the same thorough 
education in subjects required to fit him for the general duties of life as is afforded 
by the other courses. 

The first two years' work is identical with that of the students in civil engineer- 
ing, except that carpentry and forge work are taken the second year in place of 
part of the drawing. In the junior year the first term is devoted to the geometry 
of machinery, showing the students how different motions may be obtained inde- 
pendently of the power required. Special attention is here given to the subject 
of gearing, and a full set of problems worked out, illustrating cases commonly 
occurring in practice. Instruction is also given by lectures and text-book on other 
methods of transmitting motion, as by belts, cams, couplings, and links. Con- 
siderable time is given to the study and designing of the various valve and link, 
motions used on the steam engine. During the second term of the junior year 
instruction is given in analytical mechanics and the laws of the strength of 
materials, the student being required to design machine details in accordance 
with these laws. 

The first part of the first term, senior year, is employed in studying the laws of 
the expansion of steam and their influence upon the construction of steam engines, 
the subject being illustrated by experiments on the shop engine with the aid of an 
indicator. During the remainder of the term the students are engaged in design- 
ing engines and other machines and in making detail drawings of the same, such 
as would be required to work from in the shop. 

During the last term, senior year, the study of steam engineering is continued 
in its application to the construction of steam boilers. In connection with this 
subject the student is required to design a steam boiler in all its details. The 
subject of hydraulics is taken up briefly by text-book work in hydromechanics 
and the principles applied to the solution of practical problems. 

Shop ivork. — The first term of the sophomore year two hours of each day are 
devoted to work in carpentry, special attention being given to accuracy of work- 
manship. Students are encouraged in every way to make articles of practical use. 

During the second term of the same year the student receives instruction in 
forge work, including the welding and tempering of steel. Each student is 
required to make a set of cold chisels and lathe tools for future use in machine 
work. A course in machine work during the first term of the junior year gives 
the student practice in the various methods of shaping and fitting metals by the- 



176 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

use of the chisel, hack saw and file, engine lathe, shaping machine, planer, and 
milling machine. During their second term the sophomore students in this course 
take turns in running the shop engine, and are taught the rules of safety and 
economy in this branch of engineering. Instruction in wood turning and pattern 
making is given during the senior year. There is also a course in foundry work, 
in which the student is taught molding and casting. Physical laboratory practice 
engages the student two afternoons each week throughout the year. 

Drawing. — The work in drawing commences with a course in free-hand and 
elementary mechanical drawing, extending through the freshman year. 

The first term of the junior year the student spends the time allotted to draw- 
ing in working out practical problems on the construction of gear teeth, cams, 
etc. , and in elementary practice in line shading and tinting. 

The second term of this year is devoted to isometric projection. During this 
term the student prepares an original design of some machine, makes working 
drawings of its details on tracing cloth, and finally prepares copies by the blue- 
print process. The drafting of the senior year consists of making calculations for 
designs of engines and boilers, the construction of the necessary working draw- 
ings, and making thesis drawings. 

The remarks under course in civil engineering with regard to astronomy, min- 
eralogy, and geology apply also to this course, and to them reference is made. 

These are required of all students as a condition of graduation, and must be on 
some subject directly connected with mechanical engineering. 

Students in this course receive the degree of bachelor of mechanical engineering 
upon graduation, with full degree of mechanical engineer three years afterwards 
npon presentation of a satisfactory thesis and proof of professional work or study. 

Course in Chemistry, 
first year. 

First term. — Solid geometry (12 w.); algebra (4w.); rhetoric (4); reading and 
analysis of authors (1); physiology; physical culture; lectures, agriculture and 
horticulture. P.M.: Free-hand drawing (2); dissecting (1); general history (1). 

Second term. — Algebra (6 w.); trigonometry (14 w.); botany; French; physical 
culture; lectures, agriculture and horticulture. P. M.: Mechanical drawing (F. 
of T.); laboratory botany (L. of T.) (2); history (L. of T.) (1); analysis of 
authors (L. of T.) (1). 

SECOND YEAR. 

First term. — General chemistry; botany (cryptogamic) ; French (2); German 
<3); physics. P. M.: Laboratory physics (2); laboratory botany (2). 

Second term. — Analytical chemistry; physics; French (3); German (2). 
P. M.: Laboratory physics (2); analytical chemistry (3). 

THIRD YEAR. 

First term.— Analytical chemistry; chemistry (3); German (2); invertebrate 
zoology. P. M.: Analytical chemistry. 

Second term. — Chemistry (3); German (2); logic; entomology (F. of T.); 
descriptive astronomy (L. of T.). P.M.: Laboratory work, zoology and ento- 
mology (2); analytical chemistry (3). 

FOURTH YEAR. 

First term. — Chemistry; psychology; comparative anatomy; political economy 
and international law. P. M. : Comparative anatomy (2) : analytical chemistry (3) . 

Second term. — Chemistry; psychology; United States Constitution and business 
law; geology and mineralogy. P. M.: Analytical chemistry and thesis work. 



THE UNIVERSITY OF MAINE. 177 

EXPLANATORY STATEMENTS. 

This course aims to supply a want felt by students who wish to enter certain 
industries in which a somewhat extensive knowledge of chemistry is important. 
The first two years are mainly like those of the other courses, qualitative analysis 
being, however, obligatory for these students in the second term of the sophomore 
year. 

During the junior year daily recitations are held in advanced inorganic chemis- 
try. In the senior year advanced organic chemistry is taken up. Sophomores 
have one exercise a week in elementary chemical experiments. The afternoons 
are devoted to quantitative chemical analysis by the junior and senior students 
in the course. The work consists of the most useful gravimetric and volumetric 
methods, beginning with the simple estimations, which are followed by more 
complex analyses of alloys, minerals, fertilizers, farm products, etc. A short 
course in the assay of gold and silver is also given. 

The class-room text-books used by this department are Remsen's Chemistry and 
Naquet's Principes de Chimie. In the laboratory are used Craft's Qualitative 
Chemical Analysis, Fresenius's Quantitative Chemical Analysis, Frankland's 
Agricultural Chemical Analysis, Flint's Examination of Urine, Rickett's Notes 
on Assaying, Appleton's Quantitative Analysis, and Classen's Quantitative 
Analysis. 

Valuable books of reference are found in the library. 

Students taking qualitative analysis must furnish a deposit of at least $5 when 
they begin. Those taking quantitative analysis are required to deposit at least 
$7. Students taking the course in chemistry or an extended course in quantita- 
tive analysis are expected to provide themselves with a small platinum crucible. 

The students, after passing all the required examinations and presenting satis- 
factory thesis upon some chemical subject, graduate with the degree of bachelor 
of science. 

Postgraduate and special students can make arrangements with the professor 
of chemistry for an advanced or special course of laboratory work and recitations. 

Course in Science and Literature, 
first year. 

First term. — Rhetoric (4); reading and analysis of authors (1); physiology; 
solid geometry (12 w.); algebra (4 w. ); physical culture; lectures, agriculture 
and horticulture. P. M.: Free-hand drawing (2); dissecting (1); general his- 
tory (1). 

Second term.— French; botany; algebra (6w), trigonometry (14 w.); physical 
culture; lectures, agriculture and horticulture. P. M.: Mechanical drawing (F. 
of T ): laboratory botany (L. of T. ) (2); general history (L. of T.) (1); analysis 
of authors (L. of T.) (1). 

SECOND year. 

First term.— Botany (cryptogamic) ; general chemistry. French (2); German 
(3), physics. P. M.; Laboratory physics (2), laboratory botany (2); general 
history (1). 

Second term.— Physics; analytical chemistry ; French (3); German (2). P.M.: 
Laboratory physics (2); analytical chemistry (3). 

THIRD YEAR. 

First term.— German (2); Anglo-Saxon (3); English and American literature; 
invertebrate zoology; advanced physics (2). P. M.: Laboratory physics or chem- 
istry (2); analysis of authors and historical reading (3). 

10324— No. 3—03 12 ■ 



ITS EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

Second term. — German (2); philology of the English language (3); logic; ento- 
mology (F. of T.): descriptive astronomy (L. of T.); literary work (3); advanced 
physics (2). P. M.: Laboratory work in physics or chemistry (2); laboratory 
work in zoology and entomology (2); literary work (1). 

FOURTH YEAR. 

First term, — History of civilization; psychology; comparative anatomy; polit- 
ical economy. P. M.: Elements of municipal law (1); comparative anatomy (2); 
literary work (2). 

Second term. — Horticulture (F. of T.) (3); landscape gardening (L. of T.) (3); 
psychology; United States Constitution; international law; geology and miner- 
alogy. P.M.: Literary and scientific work. 

EXPLANATORY STATEMENTS. 

The course in science and literature is designed for those young men and women 
who intend to pursue professions or callings for which the other courses do not 
especially fit them. 

This course is generally parallel with that of the ordinary classical college, 
except that a more complete study of the mother tongue and of the natural 
sciences takes the place of the work done in Latin and Greek. 

The aim in this, as in the other curricula of the college, is to educate in the 
etymological and best sense of the word; to draw the student out, to train and 
develop his powers of observation and reason, and to avoid so far as possible what 
is familiarly known as cram. With this end in view, the instruction by text- 
books and lectures, as will be seen by reference to the foregoing scheme, is closely 
associated with constant work in the library, laboratories, and field, every means 
available being employed to bring the student into direct contact with the subject- 
matter of his studies. 

In the study of Anglo-Saxon and English philology the student becomes familiar 
with the origin of our language, its place in the Teutonic family, its relation to 
the other Indo-Germanic tongues, the sources whence it has been enriched, and 
the circumstances that have combined to bring it to its present fullness and 
strength. In rhetoric, the most important part of the work is held to be the 
acquirement on the part of the student of an ability to express himself easily and 
well, hence much attention is given to written exercises, themes, and essays, 

In literature, following out the idea that the best way to become acquainted 
with an author is to study his productions, the text-book is made subordinate to 
the library work, to which much attention is given during the entire course. 

The soundest basis for a liberal education lies in a careful study and a clear 
knowledge of our own noble language and literature, and it is believed that the 
line of studies above set forth, supplemented by the courses in French and Ger- 
man, furnishing as it does a broad foundation for a true and generous culture, 
can not fail to be of the greatest advantage to the young men and women of our 
State. 

Upon graduation the students in science and literature receive the degree of 
bachelor of science; three years later, on proof of satisfactory advancement and 
on the presentation of a thesis embodying original work or investigation; they 
become entitled to the degree of master of science. 

EXPERIMENT STATION. 

By virtue of an act of Congress known as the Hatch bill, approved 
March 2. 1887, and an act of the Maine legislature in conformity 




i fJp.t-t 4 !] f ' 



jift 



■r s= 




THE UNIVERSITY OF MAINE. 179 

therewith, a department in the college was established in 1887, desigv 
nated the Maine Experiment Station. It has for its objects investiga- 
tions in agricultural science and experimentation with reference to 
practical agriculture. It receives from the National Government 
$15,000 annually for its support. The outlining of its work is com- 
mitted to a council consisting of three trustees, the president of the 
college, the director of the station, the professors of agriculture, hor- 
ticulture, and natural history, the veterinarian to the station, and a 
representative from each of the following organizations, viz, the State 
board of agriculture, the Patrons of Husbandly, and the State Pomo- 
logical Society. The station staff is at present made up of the follow- 
ing officers : 

W. N. Jordan, M. S., director. 

M. C. Fernald. Ph. D., meteorologist. 

Walter Balentine, M. S., experimental agriculturist. 

F. L. Harvey, M. S., botanist and entomologist. 

F. L. Russell, V. S., veterinarian. 

J. M. Bartlett, M. S.., chemist. 

L. H. Merrill, B. S., chemist. 

W. M, Munson, M. S., horticulturist. 

H. P. Gould, assistant in horticulture. 

A. M. Shaw, foreman on farm. 

Mrs. Jennie Waitt, clerk. 

GOVERNMENT AND CERTAIN GENERAL STATEMENTS. 

While the administration of government is committed to the fac- 
ulty, a system of cooperation has been maintained since 1873, by 
which a measure of responsibility for good order and upright conduct 
has been lodged with the students themselves. They have respected 
the trust and the system has proved valuable. 

Students are required to attend daily prayers at the college and 
public worship on the Sabbath at some one of the neighboring churches, 
unless excused by the president. 

Labor required of students is regarded as educational or noned- 
ucational. For the latter compensation is made; for the former no 
pecuniary compensation is made, its value being received from its 
educational character. 

Military instruction is given throughout the entire course by an 
officer assigned by the United States Government. 

Women are admitted to the college by virtue of a law of the State 
enacted in 1872. 

FARM, BUILDINGS, APPARATUS, AND LIBRARY. 

The farm connected with the college furnishes lessons in the best 
methods of agricultural practice, and is designed to be so conducted 
as to be an educational appliance of the institution, especially for 
students in the agricultural course. 



ISO EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

A brief description of the principal buildings is herewith given. 
The first building constructed on the campus, early known as "White 
Hall," and later as "Wingate Hall," was destroyed by fire in Febru- 
ary, 1800. In its place was erected in 1891 a substantial brick 
edifice, bearing the name of " Wingate Hall," devoted principally to 
the departments of civil and mechanical engineering. It furnishes in 
addition class rooms and a lecture room for other departments and a 
room for the Young Men's Christian Association. 

The chemical laboratory was completed in 1870. It was modeled 
after the corresponding building at Brown University, Providence, 
R. I. It is a two-story brick building, with an ell of one story used as 
a working laboratory. Besides all the space necessary for excellent 
work in chemistry, there are rooms devoted to mineralogy and pho- 
tography. 

Oak Hall, completed in 1871, is a four-story brick building, contain- 
ing 48 rooms, and is used as a dormitory. In the rear of this hall and 
connected with it by a corridor is the boarding house, a two-story 
wooden building, in which is the college dining hall. 

The mechanical shop is a plain wooden structure, erected in 1883, 
which furnishes accommodations for the practical work of the 
mechanical department. The main building is 56 by 36 feet, two 
stories in height, and contains on the first floor machine room, filing 
room, engine room, wash room, and tool room. The second floor is 
wholly devoted to wood working. The ell, 56 by 24 feet, one story in 
height, with monitor roof, is used as a forge room, and adjoining this 
is the foundry, recently constructed. In the development of shop 
instruction the principal processes of metal working and wood work- 
ing, including wood turning, are now taught. 

Coburn Hall, dedicated in June, 1888, furnishes adequate accom- 
modations for the departments of natural history and agriculture and 
contains the museum. It also includes a hall used as a chapel, with 
seating capacity for 400 persons, a room devoted to the purposes of a 
physical laboratory, and the college library and reading room. 

In 1889 a substantial brick building was completed for the depart- 
ment of the college known as the "experiment station." 

In 1890 a building was constructed for the department of horticul- 
ture, and in 1891 a dairy house fulty equipped with modern appara- 
tus and machinery for the school of dairying. 

Besides the 'buildings which have been noticed, there are on the 
college grounds the president's house, a professor's house, 2 houses 
rented to students, 1 society hall, 2 cottages, and a commodious set of 
farm buildings comprising a house, 3 barns, and other outbuildings. 

The college is supplied with a good amount of physical, astronom- 
ical, and chemical apparatus ; also with apparatus adapted to the needs 
of the departments of civil and mechanical engineering, natural his- 



THE UNIVERSITY OF MAINE. 



181 



tory collections, farm implements and machinery, and other collec- 
tions suited to the wants of the department of agriculture. 
The library contains above 7,500 bound volumes. 

VALUE OF PROPERTY AND ENDOWMENT. 

The value of the college property in buildings is $184,000; value of 
library, $12,000; of apparatus, $44,000; of farm, tools, stock, car- 
riages, and furniture, $20,000; making a total of $260,000. The college 
has derived its principal endowment from the sale of the land to 
which, under the act of 1862, it was entitled. Unfortunately for its 
financial status, this land, amounting for the State of Maine to 210,000 
acres, was put on the market when prices for land unlocated were 
merely nominal. In 1866, by authority of the State legislature, all 
the land, except 16,200 acres, was sold by the governor, Hon. Samuel 
Cony, and his executive council, for about 53 cents per acre. In 1870 
the remaining 16,200 acres were sold by Governor Chamberlain for 
84 cents per acre. 

The amount received from the sale of land ($118,300) was invested 
in State of Maine bonds bearing interest at the rate of 6 per cent. 
The character of the investment remains unchanged, but the rate of 
interest was reduced in 1889 to 5 per cent. To this fund $13,000 of 
accumulated interest has been added, making the total interest- 
bearing fund from this source $131,300. By will of the late ex-Gov- 
ernor Abner Coburn, of Skowhegan, Me. , the endowment fund was 
increased by $100,000 — a munificent gift, which not only furnishes 
a valuable addition to the resources of the college, but constitutes a 
permanent testimonial to Governor Coburn's intelligent and philan- 
thropic interest in the cause of industrial education. This latter fund 
is invested also in a State of Maine bond bearing interest at 4 per cent. 
The interest-bearing endowment is therefore $231,300, yielding an 
annual revenue of about $10,500, in addition to the amounts received 
from the United States Government under the Hatch and Morrill acts. 

THE BOUNTY OF THE STATE TO THE COLLEGE. 

The bounty of the Sta 1 ^ to the college is shown by the following 
record of legislative appropriations for its aid: 



1867 „ $20,000 

1868 1. 10,000 

1870 50,000 

1871 6,000 

1872 18,000 

1873 24,000 

1874 12,500 

1875 10,500 

1876 8,000 

1877 15,218 



1878 $6,500 

1880 3,000 

1881 3,500 

1883 13,000 

1885 12,400 

1887 34,600 

1889 30,000 

1891 24,500 

Total 301,718 



182 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

The early appropriations were Largely devoted to the construction 
of three ol' the principal buildings. In fact, the larger part of the 
appropriations by the State has gone into buildings, all of which are 
on the college grounds and in good condition, and into apparatus and 
other equipments designed to enhance the value of the work of instruc- 
tion. For supplementing the proceeds of the endowment funds and 
the receipts from tuition the drafts made upon the State appropria- 
t ions in payment of salaries and other general expenses have averaged 
less than $3,000 a year. 

In her fostering care for a]l of her institutions, Maine, compared 
with many of her sister States, can be said to have been only fairty 
generous, not lavish, in her expenditure upon her State college. She 
manifests, however, a constant and abiding interest in its welfare, 
and, with continued and increasing prosperity, may confidently be 
relied upon to provide other buildings as they shall be needed and to 
furnish the means of further strengthening and developing all the 
growing departments of the college. 

THE BOUNTY OF INDIVIDUALS. 

In connection with the appropriations by the State, reference should 
be made to the bounty of individuals. Before the college was opened 
to students, Bangor gave to it $12,000; and since the admission of 
students in 1868 it has been each year the recipient, in one form or 
another, of individual favor and bounty. Ex-Governor Coburn, 
whose munificence has already been cited, was especially helpful by 
the bestowal of timely gifts, and thus frequently tided a department 
over a hard place or came to the assistance of the college when in 
extremity. 

REAL SOURCE OF STRENGTH. 

It is not, however, the endowment, not the buildings, indispensable 
as they are, not the bounty of the State or of individuals, nor all of 
these combined, that determine the life and character of an institu- 
tion of learning. Without some or all of these aids, it is true, the 
institution may not exist; but with them ^ it may prove a failure, 
and all its work may come to naught, i, • its real life it is much 
more dependent upon the energy and spirit of those who administer 
its affairs, upon the fidelity and genius of those who fill offices of 
instruction, upon the purpose and quality of those who seek instruc- 
tion and guidance, and especially upon the harmonious working 
together of all these elements, inasmuch as they are the potent factors 
in an institution's permanent upbuilding and success. In this last 
regard the Maine State College has been exceptionally fortunate. 
Its growth, therefore, although less vigorous and ample than its 
friends could desire, has been an entirety healthy growth, and its 
promise and outlook are regarded as in a high degree encouraging. 



THE UNIVEKSITY OF MAINE. 



183 



THE ALUMNI AND THEIR VOCATIONS. 

The number of graduates is 369, comprising 346 men and 23 women. 
The number of students who have pursued special or partial courses, 
extending through periods varying from one term to three and a 
half years, averaging one and a half years for each, is 346. These 
numbers do not include the 145 students now in attendance upon this 
institution. It thus appears that 860 students have enjoj^ed or are 
now enjoying the benefits of the courses of instruction offered by this 
college. 

The extent to which the alumni have engaged in the substantial 
industries, and their excellent standing wherever known, are regarded 
as occasions of just pride by all friends of the institution. Of the 
369 graduates, 350 are now living. The following table gives their 
occupations and the relative percentages in each calling : 





Number. 


Percent- 
age. 




Number. 


Percent- 
age. 




17 
17 

6 
66 

4 
44 

5 
16 


5 
5 

2 
19 

1 
12 

1 
5 


Physicians 

Lawyers 

Clergymen 


10 
17 
3 
8 
21 
35 

81 


3 


Specialists in agriculture a. 
Engineers in chief on rail- 


5 
1 

2 


Civil engineers 


In commercial business . . . 

Teachers b _ 

Miscellaneous and u n - 


6 




10 


Mechanical engineers 

Superintendents of manu- 


23 


Total. 






350 


100 







a Including 2 professors of agriculture, 1 professor of botany and horticulture, 2 directors of 
agricultural experiment stations, 5 assistants in agricultural experiment stations, 3 veterinary 
surgeons, and 1 editor of an agricultural paper. 

& Including 8 professors and 5 instructors in agricultural and mechanical colleges. 

From the foregoing table it appears that only 9 per cent of the grad- 
uates are eugaged in the so-called professions, and that 91 per cent 
are engaged in varied and largely practical industries. Ten per cent 
are engaged either in farming or in some of the higher forms of serv- 
ice in agriculture, 40 per cent in civil and mechanical engineering 
or allied forms of labor, and 5 per cent in manufactures, making 55 
per cent in these few very important vocations of industrial life. Of 
the 81 classed in the table under the head " miscellaneous and 
unknown," many will find their permanent places in some of the 
occupations named. 

CONCLUSION. 



The history of the Maine State College can be regarded as in no 
sense peculiar. It makes claim to no distinction above that of other 
institutions of its class. Like most of them it has experienced the 
wonted mutations of fortune or condition; has known dark days 
and bright days, and, like them also, .it has maintained through all 
its vicissitudes its obligations unimpaired, and has kept steadfast 
faith in the future. 



184 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

List of trustees of the Maine State College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts, 
from 1867 to 1892, and terms of service. 

Hon. Abner Coburn, 1867 to 1879; president of the board, 1867 to 1879. 
Rev. Samuel F. Dike, 1867 to 1879. 

Hon. William P. Wingate, 1867 to 1883; president of the board, 1879 to 1883. 
Hon. Lyndon Oak, 1867 to 1889; secretary of the board, 1871 to 1883; president 
of the board. 1883 to 1889. 
Hon. Nathaniel Wilson, 1867 to 1869. 
Hon. George R. Sewall, 1867 to 1868. 
Hon. Isaiah Stetson, 1867; resigned, May 15, 1867. 
Hon. Nathan Dane, 1868 to 1869. 
Hon. Thomas S. Lang, 1868 to 1874. 
Hon. S. L. Goodale, 1869 to 1873. 
Hon. S. F. Perley, 1869 to 1874. 
Hon. James C. Madigan, 1869 to 1879. 
Hon. S. L. Boardman, 1873 to 1879. 
Hon. Sylvanns T. Hincks, 1874 to 1881. 
Hon. Caleb A. Chaplin, 1874 to 1884. 
Hon. Lnther S. Moore, 1879 to 1886. 
Hon. Emory O. Bean, 1879 to 1883. 
Hon. A. M. Robinson, 1880 to 1887. 
Hon. Z. A. Gilbert, 1880 to 1889. 
Hon. Daniel H. Thing, 1881 to 1888. 
Capt. Charles W. Keyes, 1883 to 1890. 
Hon. William T. Haines, secretary, 1883. 
Hon. E. E. Parklmrst, 1884 to 1888. 
Gen. R. B. Shepherd, 1885. 
Arthur L. Moore, B. S., 1886. 
Rutilms Alden, esq., 1888. 
William H. Strickland, esq., 1888 to 1891. 
Hon. Fred Atwood, 1888 to 1891. 
Hon. Charles P. Allen, 1889. 
Hon. Rufns Prince, 1890 to 1891. 
Hon. Henry Lord, 1891. 
B. F. Briggs, esq., 1891. 
G. J. Shaw, esq., 1891. 

LIST OF TREASURERS. 

Hon. Isaiah Stetson, 1867 to 1879. 
Col. Eben Webster, 1879 to 1883. 
J. Fred Webster, esq., 1883 to 1889. 
Prof. G. H. Hamlin, 1889. 

List of presidents, professors, and instructors of the Maine State College of 
Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts, from its organization, 1868 to 1892. 

PRESIDENTS. 

Merritt C. Fernald, A. M., acting president, 1868 to 1871. 
Charles F. Allen, A. M., D. D., president, 1871 to 1879. 
Merritt C. Fernald, A. M., Ph. D., president, 1879. 



THE UNIVERSITY OF MAINE. 185 

PROFESSORS AND INSTRUCTORS. 

Merritt C. Fernald, A. M., professor of mathematics and physics, 1868 to 1879; 
physics, mental and moral science, 1879. 

Samuel Johnson, A. M., instructor in agriculture and farm superintendent, 
1868 to 1871. 

Stephen F. Peckham, A. M., professor of chemistry, 1869 to 1871. 

Calvin Cutter, M. D., lecturer on anatomy, physiology, and hygiene, 1869 to 
1871. 

Corydon B. Lakin, instructor in bookkeeping, 1869 to 1871. 

Capt. Henry E. Sellers, military instructor, 1869 and 1870. 

John Swift, B. S., instructor in botany and horticulture, 1870 to 1871. 

Mrs. Mary L. Fernald, instructor in French and German, 1870 and 1871. 

X. A. Willard, A. M., lecturer on dairy farming, 1870. 

James J. H. Gregory, A. M., lecturer on market farming and gardening, 1870. 

A. S. Packard, jr., M. D., lecturer on useful and injurious insects, 1871. 

E. S. Morse, lecturer on comparative anatomy and zoology, 1871. 

Wm. E. Hoy t, instructor in descriptive geometry and mechanical drawing, 1871. 

C. F. Allen, A. M., D. D., professor in English literature and mental and moral 
science, 1871 to 1879. 

William A. Pike, C. E., professor of civil engineering, 1871 to 1880. 

Robert L. Packard, A. M., professor of chemistry and modern languages, 1872. 

Charles H. Fernald, A. M., professor of natural history, 1871 to 1886. 

Joseph R. Farrington, farm superintendent, 1871 to 1878; instructor in agricul- 
ture, 1878 and 1879. 

Capt. James Deane, military instructor, 1871 to 1874. 

John Perley, instructor in bookkeeping, 1872 to 1874. 

C. F. Stone, professor of chemistry, 1873 (spring), three months. 

W. O. Atwater, professor of chemistry, 1873. 

Alfred B. Aubert, B. S., professor of chemistry, 1874. 

Randall Whittier, professor of modern languages and mechanics, 1873 and 1874. 

Prof. James Law, V. S. , lecturer on veterinary science, 1874. 

George H. Hamlin, C. E., assistant in engineering, 1873-74; assistant professor, 
1874 to 1876; professor of drawing and field engineering, 1876 to 1879; professor of 
mathematics and drawing, 1879-80; professor of civil engineering, 1880. 

Winfield S. Chaplin, professor of modern languages and mechanics and mili- 
tary instructor, 1874 to 1877. 

Francis L. Hill, professor of modern languages and military instructor, 1877 and 
1878. 

Miss Isabel S. Allen, instructor in German, 1877. 

Timothy G. Rich, farm superintendent, 1879 to 1882. 

Allen E. Rogers, A. M., instructor in modern languages and military science, 

1879 and 1880; professor of modern languages and instructor in military science, 

1880 to 1882; professor of modern languages, logic, and political economy, 1882 to 
1891; professor of history, logic, and civics, 1891. 

Whitman H. Jordan, B. S., instructor in agriculture, 1879 and 1880. 

Wilbur F. Decker, B. M. E., instructor in shopwork, 1879 and 1880. 

Charles H. Benjamin, M. E., instructor in mechanical engineering, 1880 and 
1881; professor of mechanical engineering, 1881 to 1887. 

Walter Balentine, M. S., instructor in agriculture, 1881-82; professor, 1882. 

Walter Flint, B. M. E., instructor in vise work and forge work, 1881 to 1887; 
professor of mechanical engineering, 1887. 

Lieut. Edgar W. Howe, Seventeenth Infantry, U. S. Army, professor of military 
science and tactics, 1882 to 1885. 



186 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

Gilbert M. Gowell,* farm superintendent, 1883 to 1887: instructor in practical 
agriculture, L891. 

Lieut. Charles L. Phillips, professor of military science and tactics, 1885 to 1888. 

Francis L. Harvey. M. S., professor of natural history, 1886. 

James X. Hart. B. C. E., instructor in mathematics and drawing, 1887. 

Howard S. Webb. B. M. E.. instructor in shop work, 1887. 

Lieut. Everard E. Hatch, professor of military science and tactics, 1888 to 1891. 

Fremont L. Russell. D. V. S., instructor in veterinary science. 1889. 

Fred P. Briggs, B. S., assistant in natural history, 1889. 

Nathan C. Grover. B. C. E.. assistant in civil engineering, 1890. 

Harriet Converse Fernald, M. S., librarian, 1890. 

Welt on M. Munson. M. S., professor of horticulture and landscape gardening, 
1891. 

Horace M. Estabrooke, M. S., A. M., professor of rhetoric and modern lan- 
guages. 1891. 

James S. Stevens, M. S., Ph. D., professor of physics, 1891. 

Lieut. Mark L. Hersey, professor of military science and tactics, 1891. 

David Wilder Colby, B. S., assistant in chemistry, 1891. 

David W. Trine, B. S., assistant in horticulture, 1892. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

Reports Maine board of agriculture since 1862. 

Files of Maine Farmer, of the College Cadet, and of the local papers. 

Reports of the board of trustees. 

Reports of the commissioner of education. 

Reports of conventions of agricultural colleges and experiment stations called 
"by the United States Commissioner of Agriculture. 

Reports of Association of American Agricultural Colleges and Experiment 
Stations. 

Historical sketch by President M. C. Fernald in the New England Magazine 
for April-May, 1887. 

Historical address by Hon. Lyndon Oak and other papers on occasion of dedi- 
cation of Coburn Hall, June 26, 1888. 

SUPPLEMENTARY NOTE. . 

In 1893 the writer retired from the presidency of the college, after 
a service for it of twentj-five years, during fourteen years of which 
he was its president. 

His successor in office is Dr. A. W. Harris, formerly director of the 
office of experiment stations, Washington, D. C. Dr. Harris has 
entered upon his new duties with a degree of earnestness and enthu- 
siasm which augurs well for the future of the college under his 
administration . 

The death of Prof. Walter Balentine in 1894 rendered necessary the 
choice of a professor of agriculture in his place. The duties of this 
chair have been assigned to Prof. W. H. Jordan, director of the 
Maine experiment station. 

A course in electrical engineering and a course in pharmacy have 
been introduced, and additions rendered necessary in the teaching 
force have been made. 



THE UNIVEKSITY OF MAINE. 187 

A library school has been started, and a course of instruction of 
one year in library economy is now given. Short winter courses of 
twelve weeks are now offered in general agriculture, dairying, poultry 
management, carpentry, and ironwork. 

Lectures by members of the faculty are also given at various points 
in the State under the plan of university extension. 

Appropriations by the State since the records were made in the 
body of this sketch have amounted to $52,500, $20,000 of which will 
be available in 1896. The number of students in attendance upon 
the college in the year 1895 was 203. The faculty is made up of 
earnest, able, and hard-working men. The buildings and equipments 
are admirably adapted to the purposes of the institution, and a career 
of large usefulness for the State and the nation may reasonably be 
expected of it. 



Chapter VIII. 

NORMAL SCHOOLS. 



In the first report of the State board of education in 1847, the hope 
was expressed that the State might some day have an amply endowed 
institution for the education of teachers. In each subsequent report 
of the board attention was called to the subject. The State superin- 
tendent in 1854, and the various teachers' conventions urged the matter 
upon the attention of the legislature. In 1860 a law was passed estab- 
lishing normal departments in 18 academies of the State. After two 
years' trial, with unsatisfactory results, the act was repealed. In Feb- 
ruary, 1863, the trustees of Farmington Academy, at the instance of 
A. P. Kelsey, the principal, memorialized the legislature for the estab- 
lishment of a normal school, offering to contribute the academic 
property and funds toward that object. This led to the passage of 
the act of March 25, 1863, authorizing the establishment of two schools, 
one in the eastern part of the State and one in the western. 

The act establishing the normal schools prescribes that they ' ' shall 
be thoroughly devoted to their work of training teachers for their 
professional labors;" that "the course of study shall include the 
common English branches in thorough reviews, and such of the higher 
branches as are especially adapted to prepare teachers to conduct the 
mental, moral, and physical education of their pupils; " that " the art 
of school management, including the best methods of government and 
instruction, shall have a prominent place in the daily exercises of said 
schools; " and that "teaching the fundamental truths of Christianity, 
and the great principles of morality, recognized by statute, they shall 
be free from all denominational teachings and open to persons of 
different religious connections on terms of perfect equality." 

STATE NORMAL SCHOOL AT FARMINGTON. a 

Three commissioners were appointed to invite and receive proposals 
for the location of the new schools. Acting upon the report made by 
them the governor and council established the first normal school at 
Farmington in October, 1863, on condition that the trustees of Farm- 
ington Academy should furnish, without expense to the State, suit- 

« Maine school reports, 1865 to 1891. 

Annual registers of the State Normal School at Farmington. 
G. C. Purington: History of the State Normal School, Farmington, 1889. 
188 



NORMAL SCHOOLS. 189 

able buildings for the instruction of 200 pupils for a term of five years. 
The buildings were to be completed by August 15, 1864, and the trus- 
tees at once proceeded to erect a brick building, which, with the 
wooden building of the old academy, should afford the required accom-- 
modations. In erecting this building the trustees expended more 
than $8,000. To accommodate the increased • number of students 
twenty-five years later it was found necessary to remodel and enlarge 
this building, nearly doubling its size. 

Mr. Ambrose P. Kelsej 7 , to whose labors the school owed its exist- 
ence, was chosen principal, and the first normal school of Maine began 
its sessions August 24, 1864, in Beal's Hall, the school building not 
being ready until the beginning of the winter term. Thirty-one pu- 
pils from 9 different counties constituted the school during the first 
term; 130 entered during the year. Mr. Kelsey resigned after the 
arduous labors of the first year, and Mr. George M. Gage, his assist- 
ant, was promoted to be principal. At the close of the second year, 
May 25, 1866, a class of 10 ladies graduated. Mr. Gage declined a 
reelection in 1868, and Charles C. Rounds, Ph. D., was chosen as his 
successor, which position he continued to fill with eminent ability for 
fifteen years. 

In this long period of service Dr. Rounds achieved for the school 
the high repute which it has continued to maintain for the thorough 
character of the professional training given. He imparted to the 377 
pupils whom he graduated, and to all who came under his instruction, 
much of his own enthusiasm for all that pertains to good instruction. 
On account of his untiring labors for the cause of education in the 
State, as teacher, lecturer, and writer, he gained for the Farmington 
Normal School an assured position among the educational institutions 
of Maine, and won for himself, in the words of Superintendent Luce in 
his report for 1883, " a place in our educational history second to that 
of no other man." 

George C. Purington, A. M., was called to succeed Dr. Rounds in 
1883, and has ably maintained the reputation of the school bo the 
present time. In 1889 he prepared a volume commemorating the first 
quarter century of the school, containing carefully prepared biograph- 
ical outlines concerning all the teachers and graduates with valuable 
statistics. The number of pupils who had been connected with the 
school up to 1889 is 2,159, only 22 of whom came from outside of the 
State. The number of graduates is 658, of whom 505 are ladies; 
graduates of the advanced course, 25, including 16 ladies. 

CONDITIONS OF ADMISSION. 

Gentlemen must be 17 years of age at admission or during the first 
term; ladies, 16. Candidates must present a certificate of good moral 
character from some responsible person, acknowledge their obliga- 
tion to faithfully observe all the regulations of the school, pass a 



190 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

satisfactory examination in arithmetic, through fractions, in geog- 
raphy, upon the general principles of mathematical geography, as 
laid down in common school text-books, in general upon the conti- 
nents, and in more detail upon the United States and the State of 
Maine; in grammar, reading, and spelling. 

Each pupil pays an -incidental fee of $1.50 at the beginning of each 
term. 

Tuition is free to pupils of the required age who take the reg- 
ular course of study and pledge themselves to teach in the public 
schools of Maine as long a time as thej^ remain connected with 
the normal school. Others pay a tuition of $10 per term. 

COURSE OF STUDY. 

The regular course of study is arranged for two years of three 
terms each, and includes in review the studies pursued in the common 
schools and such others as experience has shown are essential to the 
mental discipline and culture of those who are to become teachers. 

Teachers of good attainments and considerable experience, gradu- 
ates of high schools, academies, scientific schools, and colleges, who 
after one term's work show that they are well prepared in the subject- 
matter of the course can graduate with profit in less than the two 
years — high school graduates usually in one year — and will be 
allowed to do so after performing the purely professional work and 
passing a satisfactory examination in the remaining studies of the 
course. 

TRAINING SCHOOL. 

Under the control of the principal and in connection with the nor- 
mal school, in a room well adapted for the purpose and taught by a 
teacher especially fitted for such work, is the model primary sdhool. 
It has four grades, covering the work of four years. Here, during the 
last two terms of their course, the students of the normal school put 
in practice, under the careful supervision of a trained teacher, the 
theories they have learned, first observing the methods of the reg- 
ular teacher, and then, each in turn, taking full charge of the differ- 
ent classes for definite periods. 

ADVANCED COURSE. 

To meet the demand for teachers in high schools there is an 
advanced course of one year, open to the graduates of this and the 
other normal schools of the State. Supplementing as it does the reg- 
ular course, its importance can hardly be overestimated. 

STATE NORMAL SCHOOL AT CASTINE. 

The second normal school, designed to afford to the eastern portion 
of the State the advantages of a training school for teachers, is estab- 



NOEMAL SCHOOLS. 191 

lished at Castine, in Hancock County. a Its first session began Sep- 
tember 7, 1867, with 12 students, under the instruction of Mr. G. T. 
Fletcher. The citizens of Castine gave the use of an excellent build- 
ing for five years, with furniture and valuable apparatus. A library 
of about 300 volumes was contributed by friends of the enterprise. 
The attendance at the opening of the second year was 51, from which 
number the first class of 8 pupils graduated in May, 1869. The design 
of the school was not sufficiently understood at first, and there may 
also have been some disposition to be content with such training as 
young teachers would receive in high schools. But the people in that 
section of the State soon learned of the school and its practical value. 
The fourth year saw 140 pupils in attendance, and this remarkable 
increase made it evident that more ample accommodations must at 
once be provided. 

The town of Castine gave a lot of land and the legislature appro- 
priated $20,000 for the erection of a school building, which was 
completed in January, 1873, and dedicated in May following. The 
building is of brick, two and one-half stories high, 46 by 68 feet in 
dimensions of the central portion, with front and rear extensions. 

The well-lighted basement contains a chemical laboratory, steam 
heating apparatus, and water-closets. Four recitation rooms are on. 
the first floor, but the main schoolroom, 66 by 44 feet, is on the sec- 
ond floor. It has room for 200 pupils. Five thousand dollars were 
expended by the State for furnishing the new building and making 
improvements on the grounds. A large, fine- toned bell was given by 
Deacon Samuel Adams, and an interesting collection of minerals, 
shells, and curiosities presented by William Freeman, jr. 

Established in its own building, the school at once increased in 
importance and in students. From that time it became one of the- 
permanent institutions of the State, receiving regular appropriations 
for its maintenance. Requirements for admission are the same as 
for the other normal schools of the State. 

Mr. Fletcher resigned his position as principal in 1879, and Mr. 
Roliston Woodbury, assistant at the Farmington Normal School, was 
promoted to be principal at Castine. The responsible duties of his 
office Mr. Woodbury continued to discharge with the fidelity of a 
veteran soldier and the quiet, unobtrusive patience of the Christian 
gentleman until his death, November 1, 1888. b 

Mr. Albert F. Richardson succeeded Mr. Woodbury, and continues 
to conduct the school with marked ability and vigor. The increase 
in attendance has rendered an enlargement of the building necessary. 
Accordingly, the State in 1889 expended $8,000 in the erection and 
furnishing of an extension to the rear of the main building, 40 feet 

« Maine School Reports, 1867 to 1891. Catalogues of the Eastern State Normal 
School, Castine. 

b ; ' In memoriam ' ' : Address by C. C. Rounds (Maine School Report, 1888, p. 134) . 



192 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

square and two stories high. This addition gives room for the model 
school and adds two general recitation rooms, with library, teachers 
rooms, and apparatus room. 

STATE NORMAL SCHOOL AT GORHAM. 

The advantages enjoyed by the central and eastern sections of the 
State in possessing the flourishing normal schools at Farmington and 
Castine soon created a desire for like privileges in the western and 
more populous section. Accordingly, we find Hon. Frederick Robie, 
of Gorham, introducing an order in the house of representatives 
January 18, 1877, requiring — 

That the superintendent of common schools be, and is hereby, requested to 
make such examination as he may deem necessary, looking to the establishment 
of a normal school in the western part of the State ; and all parties interested are 
hereby authorized to communicate with him, setting forth the advantages of 
locality and the pecuniary benefits that "may be offered to secure the school, and 
report by bill or otherwise to the next legislature. 

This was followed b}^ an order, introduced by the same gentleman, 
January 17, 1878, calling upon the superintendent "to report any 
information or facts that he may have received from localities desir- 
ing a normal school, and his own conclusions and judgment in regard 
to the matter. " a Two days later the subject was referred to the com- 
mittee on education. The State superintendent, Hon. W. J. Corthell, 
in his report dated January 24, 1878, while recognizing that the impera- 
tive need of our schools is trained teachers, yet is forced to confess 
that the low standard of qualifications with which our school man- 
agers are satisfied does not indicate a demand for more normal schools 
of the same character. He urges the immediate establishment of a 
a, school on a different plan, with a course limited to six months. In 
this brief period Mr. Corthell believed that the pupils, most of whom 
had already begun teaching in the country schools, might review the 
subjects there taught and study methods of teaching, school organi- 
zation, management, and discipline, in connection with practice in a 
model school. He therefore recommended that the State board of 
trustees of normal schools be empowered to locate such a school if 
any town suitably situated would furnish the necessary land and 
buildings. 

The committee on education, to whom this report was referred, had 
before them petitions from the mayors of Portland, Biddeford, and 
Saco, 6 with the school authorities of those cities, urging the estab- 
lishment of a normal school in the western part of the State. The 
town of Gorham, 10 miles from Portland, offered, through its repre- 
sentative, the land and buildings requisite, and the committee reported 

^Account of the establishment of the State Normal School at Gorham, Me., and 
of the exercises at the dedication of the new school building. Portland, 1879. 
^ Journal of the house of representatives, 1877, 1878. 



NORMAL SCHOOLS. 193 

a bill, which passed the house by a vote of 101 to 34, and the senate 
by a vote of 17 to 6, and was approved February 19, 1878, establishing 
an additional normal school at Gorham on that condition. The trus- 
tees of Gorham Seminaiy were empowered by an act of the legislature 
approved February 21, 1878, to make a transfer of their property for 
the use of the new school, and authority was given to the town of 
Gorham, or any of its school districts, by act approved the same date, 
to raise a sum, not exceeding $15,000, for providing suitable build- 
ings. a At the annual town meeting of Gorham, March 4, 1878, a very 
large proportion of the voters being present, after a full discussion 
the town unanimously voted to raise $15,000 to aid in erecting a 
building for the normal school. The building committee appointed 
by the town consisted of Frederick Robie, Daniel C. Emery, John A. 
Waterman, Stephen Hinkley, Roscoe G. Harding, Solomon B. Cloud- 
man, and Reuben Lowell. This committee, increased by the addi- 
tion of George B. Emery, Joseph Ridlon, Marshall Irish, Henry H. 
Hunt, Humphrey Cousins, Lewis McLellan, and George W. Lowell, 
representing the trustees of Gorham Seminary and the subscribers to 
the fund raised for the normal school building, made their report to 
the town at its annual meeting in March, 1879. The amount raised 
and expended in the erection of the building and adornment of the 
grounds was $27,511.71. 

This amount had been collected from the following sources : 

Town of Gorham, special tax $15, 000. 00 

Citizens' subscription 7, 170. 00 

Trustees of Gorham Seminary 5, 321. 21 

Sale of sundry property 20. 50 

Total 27,511.71 

It is worthy of note that the committee themselves subscribed 
$5,550 of the amount. 

THE SCHOOL BUILDING. 

The entire edifice rests on a solid ledge. The foundations are laid 
in cement, and the underpinning, steps, and buttresses are of Maine 
granite. The walls and partitions are 14 inches thick, of brick, with 
trimmings of Nova Scotia freestone. The entire canopy over the 
mam entrance is of freestone and supported by freestone columns 
with carved capitals. 

The style of the building is modern Gothic. On the front of the 
building is a tower 14 by 16 feet and 90 feet high, with pyramidal roof , 
ornamented with iron cresting and a copper vane. On either side of 
the main building there is a pavilion, each being 8 by 24 feet in size 
and 70 feet high. The roofs have a pitch of about 45 degrees and 
are slated and finished with ornamental iron cresting. 

« Acts and resolves of Maine, 1878, eh. 44, p. 37, and ch. 89, 90, p. 81. 
10324-No. 3—03 13 



194 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

The general ground plan is in the form of a cross, the vestibule 
and dressing rooms forming the head, the main building making the 
two arms, and the two model schoolrooms the foot. The principal 
entrance opens into a vestibule 33 by 19 feet, from which two stair- 
eases lead to the second and third stories. On both sides are dressing 
rooms; a corridor communicates with the entrances to the model- 
schoolroom. On the right of this eorridor is a class room 24 by 27 
feet and a laboratory of the same dimensions. On the left are three 
class rooms, one 17 by 34 feet, and the others 12 by 27 feet each. All 
can be thrown into one room by sliding partitions. 

The first story is 14 feet high; the second, 16; the third story 
remains unfinished. In the basement are located the steam boiler, 
cisterns, water tanks, and closets. Each of the model rooms is 22 by 
26 feet, with an outside entrance, giving three spacious entrances on 
the ground floor. On the second floor is a hall 33 by 17 feet; the main 
hall and schoolroom, 48 by 70 feet; and in the rear a class room, 34 by 
22 feet; teachers' room, 18 by 22 feet, and a library of the same size. 
The whole building is heated by steam. The trustees of Gorham Semi- 
nary, duly empowered by act of legislature approved February 21, 
1878, relinquished their property; and the seminary boarding house, 
containing 40 rooms for students, was put in complete repair, fur- 
nished with steam heating apparatus, and the whole property con- 
veyed to the State by deeds from the town of Gorham and citizens. 
The trustees accepted the same in behalf of the State, and having 
furnished the school with maps, charts, reference books, and other 
needed appliances, appointed Hon. W. J. Corthell to take charge of 
the new enterprise. 

Mr. Corthell, but recently the State superintendent and for many 
years one of the foremost educators in the State, secured five assist- 
ant teachers for the several departments, and opened the first term of 
the school January 29, 1879. Eighty-five pupils presented themselves, 
a sufficient demonstration of the demand for a third normal school. 
The candidates were examined in reading, geography, arithmetic, 
grammar and analysis, mental arithmetic, history, bookkeeping, and 
physiology. At the end of the school year, January 20, 1880, diplo- 
mas were granted to 45, with certificates of three grades, expressing 
the standing of the graduate in respect to knowledge, temper, and 
disposition suitable to teach. 

At the outset the course of study was arranged to cover one year, 
but it was found to put too great strain upon teachers and pupils, 
and after a trial of two years the course was lengthened one year to 
conform with that of the other normal school. In his report for 1888, 
Principal Corthell urged the propriety of making the normal course 
three years, which recommendation was repeated in his report for 
1890, but no action has yet been taken to that effect by the trustees. ■' 



"Maine school reports, 1879-1891. 



NORMAL SCHOOLS. 195 

Four hundred and fifty-six have graduated from Gorham Normal 
School at this date (March, 1892), and it has received in all 1,102 
pupils. The number now in attendance is 101, with 117 pupils in the 
model schools. The officers of instruction are: W. J. Corthell, A. M., 
principal; Charles B. Wilson, A. M., Viola M. White, Grace J. 
Haynes, Mary M. Whitten, assistants; Jennie M. Colby, Ella John- 
son, Nellie S. Cloudman, in charge of model schools; Charles Hink- 
ley, teacher of music; Jennie M. Colby, gymnastics. 

MADAWASKA TRAINING SCHOOL. 

Extending from the northeast corner of the State to its extreme 
northern point is a district known as the " Madawaska territory," 
including the town of that name. It was settled by Acadian refugees 
who sought safety here in the quiet valley of the St. John from the per- 
secutions of the English. For nearly a century this French com- 
munity had existed, with little communication with the outside world, 
subsisting on home products and making bunches of shingles or 
bushels of buckwheat serve as a circulating medium. The school 
law, which required towns to raise $1 for each inhabitant, could not 
possibly be enforced without entailing great sacrifice and hardship. 
Hence the State authorities had excused this people from the ordi- 
nary per capita tax, and made special appropriations for the several 
towns and "plantations," to be expended for school purposes by a 
special school agent, who reported directly to the governor. This sec- 
tion of the State was virtually outside of ordinary school jurisdiction. 

In June, 1870, Superintendent Johnson, in company with the 
county supervisor, visited these people at their homes to ascertain 
their wishes in regard to common schools. He was gratified and sur- 
prised to find them "hungering for education" and deeply grateful 
for the assistance proffered by these gentlemen in behalf of the State. 
It was proposed that the people should indicate their readiness to 
help themselves by establishing schools in all their school districts, 
providing school accommodations, and employing their own teachers. 
On the part of the State the sum of $1,400 was promised for the year, 
to be divided among the schools found in successful operation. The 
arrangement was accepted with alacrity, and three months later 43 
schools were found to claim the first installment of State aid. At 
Fort Kent and at Dickey ville high schools were established, largely 
through the efforts of Priests Sweron and Beaudette. 

The schools thus established created a demand for teachers from 
the native population and led to the passage of an act of legislature 
approved February 21, 1878, authorizing the trustees of normal 
schools to found a training school in that district. This school was 
opened September 30, 1878, at Fort Kent, and placed in charge of 
Vetal Cyr, B. S. After continuing in operation twenty-two weeks, 
the school was removed to Van Buren, 45 miles farther down the St. 



196 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

John River, for the remainder of this year. The school was conducted 
on this plan of alternation between Fort Kent and Van Buren until 
1884, when it was held at Grand Isle instead of at Van Buren, where 
certain prejudices against the school had arisen. This movable school 
reached a large number of persons who had no means of conveyance 
and support remote from their homes. 

In 1887, upon recommendation of the State superintendent, the 
legislature made a special appropriation of 11,500 for a building and 
located the school permanently at Fort Kent. The school year was 
at the same time reduced from ten months to eight. A lot was 
obtained and a school building 45 by 36 feet and of one story was 
built and furnished in season for the winter term of 1888-89. 

To defray the current expense of the school an annual appropria- 
tion of $1,300 is now made from the school funds of the State, in the 
same manner as for the normal schools. At first the school was an 
experiment, to be continued only for a few years. Many such exper- 
iments had been tried in this district since 1857. The training school, 
however, abundantly justified its existence, and practically revolu- 
tionized the common schools of the section. After having been in 
operation ten years the common schools were well supplied with teach- 
ers specially adapted to their work, and the changed conditions of the 
territory, in part consequent upon the opening of a railroad to Fort 
Kent, no longer required a "school on wheels." 

An additional appropriation of $5,000 was made by the legislature 
March 28, 1891, to enlarge the school building and erect a boarding 
house for the accommodation of pupils from a distance. 

The number of pupils in attendance in 1889 was 65; in 1890, 77. 
The demand for their services in the common schools interferes with 
the prosecution of the studies of the whole course. About 60 have 
graduated, however, and received diplomas from the State superin- 
tendent. 

The towns and plantations constituting the " Madawaska Territory " 
receive especial legislation exempting them from the per capita school 
tax of 80 cents for each inhabitant. The act approved February 23, 
1887, assesses in lieu of the tax a definite sum, in each instance con- 
siderably smaller than the general law would require, upon the follow- 
ing places: The towns of Van Buren, Grand Isle, Madawaska, French- 
ville, Fort Kent, and St. Francis, and the plantations named Hamlin, 
Letter K, Wallagrass, St. John, Allegash, Eagle Lake, New Canada, 
and Winterville. The aggregate population of these townships in 
1890 was about 10,200, of which 4,837 are of school age. 

The legislative enactment of 1887 closes with the proviso that "no 
teacher shall be employed in an} 7 school receiving the benefit of this 
act who is not able to speak and write the English language satisfac- 
torily, and the English language shall be used in giving instruction 
and directing the discipline." 



Chapter IX. 

SECONDARY EDUCATION. 



The people of Maine made early provision for a higher education 
than that afforded by the common schools by the establishment of 
academies in various localities. These began to be incorporated as 
early as 1791, when a charter was granted to the Hallowell Academy, 
at Hallowell, in Kennebec County. There was at this time no school 
for higher education nearer than Exeter, N. H. A territory 300 miles 
long and containing 100,000 inhabitants demanded better educational 
privileges. The charter granted to Hallowell Academy, like those 
granted since, conferred the management upon a board of trustees, 
" for the purposes of promoting piety and morality, and for the instruc- 
tion of youth in such languages, arts, and sciences as they might 
direct." The State of Massachusetts granted a half township of wild 
land in the district of Maine, which sold in 1806 for $2 an acre. A 
lot of land was given for an academy building by Colonel Button and 
John Blunt, and a considerable amount of money was raised by sub- 
scription among the citizens. a The opening of the academy, with its 
public exercises, was an important occasion in the history of the town 
and county. 

By similar proceedings subsequent charters were obtained, grants 
of land made, subscriptions raised, and academies put into operation 
in many other towns. Twenty- three such academies had been founded 
prior to the separation of Maine from Massachusetts in 1819. These 
had received from the parent State 253,955 acres of wild land as the 
foundation of their endowment and to meet ordinary expenses. 

The new State of Maine continued the same liberal policy toward 
this class of schools, ( chartering 44 academies between 1820 and 1851, 
and giving 332,980 acres of land and $20,000 in money for their 
support. 6 

In many of these academies instruction was maintained continu- 
ously through the year. Others were in session only in the spring 
and fall, when the common schools were not open. The opportunity 
thus afforded for advanced instruction was highly prized, and the 

« Educational Institutions in Maine while a District of Massachusetts. By J. T. 
Champlin. (Maine Hist. Soc. Collections, vol. 8.) 
i> Report of the Maine board of education for 1851. 
Report of the State superintendent of schools, 1876. (W.J. Corthell.) 

197 



198 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

desire for a higher culture than the town school could provide was 
awakened and fostered by them. Young women were not admitted 
to the earlier academies, probably because the state of public opinion 
prior 10 1815 did not require them to be highly educated or to be 
instructors except in schools for young children. The Cony Female 
Academy at Augusta was chartered in 1818, and this fact is indicative 
of the change of opinion in respect to the higher education of women. 

Up to 1876 the chartered academies had received from the State 
$40,860 additional to $190,000 received from sales of lands donated. 
This amount had been further increased by subscriptions from private 
individuals, making the total endowment of academies $364,307. 

The gradual improvement in the public- school system of the State 
destroyed the monopoly of higher education previously enjoyed by 
the academies. High schools established in all the large cities and 
towns, affording free instruction in higher branches of learning, 
caused a falling off in the patronage of neighboring academies. 

The legislature of 1860 made provision for establishing normal 
departments in 18 academies, and the small appropriations of money 
granted for this purpose were applied to increase the efficiency of the 
instruction. 

Resolves requiring returns to be made by these academies to the 
superintendent of schools were passed in 1861 > but it was found 
almost impossible to secure compliance with the law. In 1865 only 
12 out of 67 academies made returns. 

The State superintendent in 1871 received, in response to inquiries 
made by order of the legislature of that year, reports from only 37 
chartered literary institutions, which are tabulated in his report. He 
found from a study of these returns that while some of the highest 
seminaries, under denominational care, had become vigorous and 
prospering, the great majority of them were in decadence, or already 
defunct. Their resources were insufficient to meet the annual 
expenditure of schools of high grade, and hence frequent applications 
for aid from the State continued to be made. The superintendent 
advised the discontinuance of appropriations to these academies, and 
that an attempt be made to absorb the academy system into a general 
system of free high schools. In several cases where the trustees of 
academies had found their resources insufficient to support a school 
they had transferred the income of the academy to the public school 
funds, thus furnishing academy privileges free of tuition. At the 
same time a tendency was observed on the part of some academies to 
transfer to private enterprises the funds and equipment bestowed by 
the State for the public benefit. 

The passage of the act in aid of free high schools in 1873, by granting 
State aid to towns which maintained schools of high grade, lessened 
the patronage of the old academies and hastened their decline. A 
few of the best endowed of the academies were allowed, for a few 



SECONDAEY EDUCATION. 



199 



years, to furnish instruction to pupils where no high school existed, 
and to draw money from the State under the terms of this act. When 
the number of such pupils became large enough to warrant the estab- 
lishment of a high school under the direct control of the town, the 
academies lost this source of revenue. Many of the smaller schools, 
or those located in districts where the changed circumstances had 
reduced the number of scholars desirous of an academical education, 
availed themselves of the ' ' act to enable academies to surrender their 
propertj 7 to cities, towns, or plantations for the benefit of free high 
schools." Under this act the trustees were empowered to transfer all 
the property and funds of any academy to the proper municipal officers 
for the purpose of maintaining a free high school. Of 35 academies 
making returns in 1871 to the State superintendent, 26 report their 
income not sufficient to maintain the school. Occasionally, as in the 
case of Hampden Academy, the town has been authorized to raise by 
taxation a small sum in aid of the academy. The town of Hampden 
was authorized by the legislature of 1887 to raise $2,000; in 1891 the 
same town was empowered to receive and hold in trust funds of 
Hampden Academy not to exceed $25,000. 

From time to time a few academies have obtained from the legisla- 
ture an annual grant for a period of years on condition of maintaining 
a school of high grade at least ten weeks in the year. The legislature 
of 1891 was exceedingly bountiful in this respect. Fourteen academies 
were granted an annual gift of $500 each for ten years, 2 were given 
$800 for ten years, and 1 $300, making $89,000 for that period. 

The following table presents a list of the academies incorporated by 
the State, with the date of incorporation. Those not in operation are 
indicated by an asterisk (*). 

Incorporated academies of Maine. 



Name. 


Where located. 


In- 
corpo- 
rated. 


Remarks. 


Hallowell Academy *. _ 


Hallowell 

South Berwick 

Fryeburg 

East Machias — 

Portland 


1791 

1791 
1792 
1792 
1794 
1801 
1803 

1803 
1803 
1804 
1805 
1807 
1807 
1808 
1808 
1808 
1808 
1808 
1808 
1808 
1811 
1811 
1818 
1818 
1818 


Merged in Hallowell Classical 
and Scientific Academy. 




Fryeburg Academy 




Washington Academy 








Lincoln Academy _ 




G-orham Academy * 


Gorham 


Maine Female Seminary in 1850; 
now merged in normal school. 






Bluenill Academy 


Bluenill 










Bath Academy* 

Farmington Academy * 

Bloomfield Academy * 

Warren Academy * 


Bath 


Merged in high school. 


Farmington 


Skowhegan 


Now the high school. 


Warren. 


Belfast Academy * 


Belfast. 


Conveyed to the city in 1852. 


Bridgton Academy. 

Bath Female Academy * 

Wiscasset Academy * 


Bridgton 


Bath 


Extinct prior to 1851. 
Extinct in 1851. 




Monmouth Academy.. 






Limerick Academy 






North Yarmouth Academy. 

Thornton Academy 


Yarmouth 


Now Yarmouth Academy. 


Saco... 

Bangor ,.. 


Formerly Saco Academy. 
Extinct prior to 1851. 


Young Ladies 1 Academy * 

Cony Female Academy * 


Augusta 

China ,„„,„,„„.-„.. 


Now Cony high school. 
Conveyed to district in 1887. 


China Academy * 



200 



EDUCATION IN MAINE. 



Incorporated academies of Maine — Continued. 



Name. 


Where located. 


In- 
corpo- 
rated. 


Remarks. 


Maine Wesleyan Seminars' 

Gardiner Lyceum*. . 


KentsHill 


1821 
1822 
1823 
1823 
1823 
1827 
1828 
1829 
1829 
1831 
1831 
1832 
1832 
1833 
1833 
1834 
1834 
1834 
1834 
1835 
1835 
1836 
1836 
1836 
1836 
1836 
1836 
1836 

1837 
1839 
1840 
1842 
1844 
1845 
1845 
1845 
1845 
1845 
1845 
1845 
1845 
1846 
1846 
1846 
1847 
1847 
1847 
1847 
1848 
1848 
1848 
1849 

1849 
1849 
1850 
1850 
1851 
1851 
1852 
1854 
1855 
1858 
1859 
1859 
1859 
1861 
1861 
1866 
1866 
1867 
1867 
1872 

1872 
1883 
1887 
1891 
1891 
1891 




Gardiner 




Brunswick Academy * 


Extinct prior to 1851. 


Foxerof t Academy 


Foxcroft . 


Anson Academy . . ,. 

Oxford Female' Academy * 

Dearborn Academy * 


North Anson 


Never in operation. 
Organization not permanent. 
Used for town schools. 




Cherry field Academy*. 

Alfred Academy * 


Cherry field 

Alfred 










North Belgrade 

Eastport. 










Hartland 

North Parsonsfield.. 
Weld 


Building used for town schools. 


Parsonsfield Seminary.. . 


Lee Meadows Academy * 

Lmion Academy * ■_ 


Never organized. 
Property distributed. 
Extinct prior to 1851. 


Kennebunk 

Falmouth 


Falniouth Academy * 


Sanf ord. Academy * . . 


Sanf ord . _ . 


Le wiston Falls Academy * 

Vassalborough Academy * . . . 


Danville 

Vassalboro 


In 1866 Edward Little Institute. 


Waterville Liberal Institute* _•_ . 


Water ville 




Gould's Academy ... . 


Bethel 




Freedom Academy 


Freedom 


Occasionally open; no funds. 
Now Somerset Academy. 
Extinct prior to 1851. 


Athens Academy *_ 


Athens. 


Livingston Academy * 


Richmond . 


Waldoboro Academy * . 


Waldoboro 


Calais Academy*. 


Calais . . 


City high school. 


Norridgewock Female Acad- 
emy.* 
Charleston Academy 


Norridgewock 

Charleston 


Now Higgins Classical Institute 








Elliot Academy * 


Elliot 






Water ville. . 




Litchfield Academy . . . 


Litchfield . 






Dennysville 






Monroe . 












Brewer 










St. George Academy * 


St. George 






Lee 




Thomaston Academy * 


Thomaston 


Sold to the city, 1867. 




Athens 




Mattana wcook Academy 

East Corinth Academy 


Lincoln . ... 




East Corinth . . . . ... 




Houlton Academy 


Houlton 


Now Ricker Classical Institute. 


Patten Academy .. . 


Patten 

Monson . .. 


Conducted as a high school. 


Monson Academy 

Litchfield Liberal Institute* 

Union Academy*. _ 




Litchfield 

Oldtown 

Limington. 

Standish 




Limington Academy * 




Standish Academy* 




Bucksport Seminary 


Bucksport 


East Maine Conference Semi- 


Norway Liberal Institute* 




nary, 1850. 


South Paris 




East Pittston Academy*.. 


East Pittston 

Lebanon 

Yarmouth 




Lebanon Academy 




Yarmouth Institute* 




Corinna Union Academy 

Towle's Academy* 




Winthrop . .. 




Oak Grove Seminary 


Vassalboro 


New charter, 1857. 


Maine State Seminary . . 

Presque Isle Academy* .. 




Now Bates College. 


Presque Isle 


Property sold, 1883. 


West Gardiner Academy* 

Harpswell Academy* 


West Gardiner 

Harpswell 












Richmond . 


Now high school. 


Paris Hill Academy . 

Maine Central Institute 


Paris. 

Pittsfield 

Wilton 




"Wilton Academy 

Augusta Academy* 

Passadumkeag Academy* 




Passadumkeag 


Not organized. 


tiflc Academy.* 


Whitefield 


Not in operation. 




Dixfield 


Not organized. 




Van Buren 


Catholic school. 


George Stevens Academy 

Higgins Classical Institute 


Bluehill 








Dresden 











CHAPTER X. 

BAPTIST ACADEMIES. 



1. COBURN CLASSICAL INSTITUTE. 

The Coburn Classical Institute is centrally located in the city of 
Waterville, and is one of the most prosperous of the system of pre- 
paratory schools of Colby College. It had its origin in the desire 
of the trustees of the college to have a classical academy to prepare 
young men for entrance upon collegiate studies. A Latin school had 
previously been maintained in one of the college buildings. Hon. 
Timothy Boutelle gave the land, and President Chaplin solicited the 
funds for a small brick building, in which the school went into oper- 
ation in the fall of 1829, under the charge of Henry W. Paine, then a 
member of the senior class in the college. Being regarded as an 
appendage to Waterville College, no act of incorporation was sought, 
and its affairs were managed entirely by the trustees of the college. 
The college catalogue of 1830-31, printed in 1830, refers to it in these 
words : 

The academy, completed during the past year, is under the direction of a com- 
mittee appointed by the trustees of the college. It contains between 40 and 50 
pupils. The preceptor is a gentleman of high literary and scientific attainments. 
Good board, washing, lodging, fuel, and lights can be obtained in private families 
for from 7 to 9 shillings per week. 

A catalogue of the academy published at the end of the year gives 
the names of 61 students, chiefly from Waterville. Mr. Paine being 
compelled to give up teaching in May, 1830, the term was finished 
by Mr. Robert W. Wood, who was followed in the autumn hy George 
I. Chace, afterward professor in Brown University. He was an exact, 
conscientious teacher and severe disciplinarian. In the summer of 
1831 Henry Paine, a graduate of Waterville in the class of 1823, who 
had acquired a high reputation as preceptor of the Monmouth Acad- 
emy, was secured as principal. In his first term 50 of the 60 students 
were studying Greek or Latin. He continued in charge of the school 
until 1835, and has left the reputation of a laborious and beloved 
teacher. The attendance in 1834 had increased to 205. For several 
yeais after his resignation the academy had no permanent principal. 
Among those whose services are best remembered are Lorenzo B. 
Allen, afterwards president of Burlington University, Iowa, an excel- 

201 



202 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

loin classical scholar; and Charles R. Train, since attorney-general 
of Massachusetts. Mr, Allen resigned in 1837. Nathaniel B. Rogers, 
a nephew of Mr. Boutelle, taught a short time in 1839. The next two 
academical years the academy was closed, but revived again in the 
spring of 1841 under the direction of Mr. Charles H. Wheeler, then a 
student in the college, who taught two terms. 

In the winter of 1841-12 the trustees of the college made arrange- 
ments to relinquish the exclusive control of the academy. An act of 
incorporation was obtained February 12, 1842, and the school passed 
under the control of a new board of trustees, residents of the town, 
the college still retaining the title to its real estate, and only stipu- 
lating that a classical school should be permanently maintained. The 
corporators were Samuel Plaisted, M. D., president; Stephen Stark, 
secretary; Zebulon Sanger, treasurer; together with Stephen Thayer, 
M. D., Johnson Williams, Harrison A. Smith, Amasa Dingley, David 
Garland, Samuel Taylor, jr. , and Edwin Noyes. The several religious 
societies of the community were represented in this local board of 
trustees, and it was expected that efficiency and permanence might 
be secured by enlisting their interest at a time when several schools 
of similar grade had sprung up in the vicinity. 

The first teacher under the new board was Mr. Nathaniel Butler, 
who took charge of the school for a short time directly after his 
graduation from college in August, 1842. His pupils recall the inter- 
est he awakened in the study of geography by requiring the novel 
exercise of map drawing. Permanence was not secured, however, 
until James H. Hanson, who had been teaching in Hanipden for the 
year following his graduation at Waterville in 1842, was engaged to 
take charge of the academy in the autumn of 1843. In the words of 
the biennial catalogue of November, 1845, "a man was sought to take 
charge of the academy who would devote his life to the sole business 
of teaching. With this understanding the present principal was 
employed." The compact has been faithfully carried out, and Dr. 
Hanson, after continuous service in the schoolroom, though not 
always at Waterville, is [1892] the honored principal of the same 
school where half a century ago he began his labors with but 6 pupils. 
Though the attendance rose to 25 during the term, Mr. Hanson found 
himself minus $40 by his term's work, the school having no endow- 
ment and only small tuition fees to recompense the teacher. Another 
term passed with similar fortune, and Mr. Hanson was about to 
abandon the attempt to continue the existence of the academy when 
the trustees succeeded in an earnest effort to raise money and pupils 
sufficient to requite the labors of the principal. 

From this date the condition of affairs improved rapidly. The 
catalogue issued in 1845 shows a total of 139 different scholars in the 
two years and pronounces the result of the attempt to revive the 
academy as "more flattering than its warmest friends could have 



BAPTIST ACADEMIES. / 203 

anticipated." The classical department had 47 students, all the 
instruction being given by the principal. " 

In 1845 Miss Roxana F. Hanscom was engaged as preceptress and the 
vsecond story of the building fitted up to receive the female pupils, 
who numbered 125 in 1848. In 1851 there were 359 pupils enrolled. 
An attempt was made in 1852 to raise $700 by subscription to make 
some needed repairs. The response was feeble, and the principal had 
to bear the expense himself. The interest of the local board of trus- 
tees had died out and the burden of the school was borne by Mr. 
Hanson alone. Worn down by the severe labor and care, he relin- 
quished his post in 1854 to Mr. George B. Gow, and became principal 
of the high school in Eastport and afterwards in Portland. Mr. Gow 
remained until the summer of 1855, when Mr. James T. Bradbury 
succeeded him, a superior scholar and teacher. Mr. Isaac S. Ham- 
blen took the school in the winter of 1857-58 and withdrew from it 
at the end of the spring term of 1861. According to the length of 
service, Mr. Hamblen's term was one of the most prosperous periods 
in the history of the academy. The average attendance was 218 and 
the number fitted for college 49. With his health much impaired by 
the excessive labor of his position, this earnest Christian educator 
dared remain no longer.* 

During the eleven years following, Waterville Academy had seven 
principals, while the patronage of the institution steadily declined. 
Mr. Ransom E. Norton taught one term in 1861, and his successor, 
Randall E. Jones, taught three terms. In the trying period of the 
civil war, from 1862 to 1865, Mr. John W. Lamb, an experienced pre- 
ceptor, maintained the high rank of the school, but with diminishing 
attendance. Mr. Augustus D. Small taught two terms in 1865 with a 
good degree of success. 

Meantime, many other academies in the State had suffered from 
the decline of public interest in them, and had either failed or been 
merged in the free high schools. It was noticed that fewer young 
men were coming to college from these schools than had been pre- 
viously sent out by the academies. President Champlin, of Water- 
ville College, was deeply impressed with the vital importance of a 
system of classical academies as feeders to the college. He matured 
plans to build up such a system, beginning with the academy at 
Waterville. 

" The project of twenty-five years before," says Dr. Gow, " to give the 
academy an existence, independent of the college, had proved futile. 
Without funds, the trustees were not inclined to exercise authority 

"Catalogues of Waterville Academy, 1830, 1831, 1834, 1845, 1848, 1851, 1853, 
1854, 1861. 

& Semicentennial of Waterville Classical Institute, 1879; addresses of William 
Mathews, LL. D., and Rev. George B. Gow, D. D. Printed in the Waterville 
Mail of July 11, 1879. 



204 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

over the school, so that their work, after having brought Mr. Hanson 
to Waterville in 1843, was little more than to appear in print on the 
first page of the catalogue, and to head subscriptions for repairs on 
the academy building. The trustees of Waterville College still held 
the real estate of the academy, and the faculty of the college was its 
natural guardian. It seemed better, therefore, that the first step 
toward reinstating the school should be to restore it to its original 
relation to the college. Several of the trustees of the academy had 
died and their places had not been filled. The survivors, at the sug- 
gestion of Dr. Champlin, readily resigned their positions, having first 
made over their trust to the trustees of the college. At the same time 
the name of the school was changed to Waterville Classical Institute." 
This title appeared for the first time on the catalogue for 1865-66. 
In addition to the college preparatory course, a three years' collegiate 
course for young ladies was created. This course was, in 1869, 
extended to four years, and by an act approved February 19, 1869, 
authority was given to confer upon those who complete this course 
"the collegiate honors and degrees that are generally granted by 
female colleges." The degree of baccalaureate of letters is accord- 
ingly conferred on graduates. 

Mr. Hanson was recalled from Portland, where he had been for six 
years the honored head of the boys' high school, and opened the insti- 
tute thus reconstructed in the Autumn of 1865. The repute of the 
school was at once restored and an attendance of 272 was reported for 
that year. The number of graduates from the college preparatory 
course increased yearly, until in 1878 it was 33. The first class to 
receive the degree of B. L. from the ladies' collegiate course was that 
of 1868. About three-fourths of those prepared for college at once 
entered Colby University. Four hundred young men received their 
training for college at the academy during its first half-century. 

Among those who have filled the position of preceptress may be 
mentioned Miss Roxana F. Hanscom, 1845 to 1851; Miss Mary E. 
Field (now Mrs. Hanson), 1851 to 1855, and since then a frequent 
assistant; Miss S. E. Thompson (afterwards Mrs. Hamblen), Miss 
Amanda S. Ham, Miss Harriet C. Woodman (now Mrs. Stanton), Mrs. 
Samantha Wilson (now Mrs. Crosby), Miss Sarah R. Ricker, 1868 
to 1885; Miss Harriet L. Estey (now Mrs. Hinds), 1885 to 1891. 

At the annual meeting of the Maine Baptist Education Society at 
Bath, in 1872, it was voted, on motion of President Champlin, of 
Colby UnivershV^, "That it is expedient that an effort be made to 
endow Waterville Classical Institute by starting a subscription to 
raise for it a fund of $50,000." The same society appointed a com- 
mittee in 1873, to confer with the trustees of Colby University, which 
led to the passage of resolutions by that board recommending ' ' that 
an earnest effort be made to raise $100,000 at the earliest da}' practica- 
ble, for the endowment of three preparatory schools, one of which 



BAPTIST ACADEMIES. 205 

shall be located at Waterville, one at some place in the eastern sec- 
tion of the State, and one in the western. 

Dr. Hanson and Prof. Moses Lyford were appointed a committee 
to secure pledges for this endowment. The matter was urged upon the 
attention of Ex-Governor Abner Coburn, of Skowhegan, and in April, 
1874, a letter was received from him, pledging $50,000 to endow the 
academy at Waterville on condition that $50,000 be raised for the 
other two schools proposed. Rev. A. R. Crane was engaged to solicit 
subscriptions and succeeded in raising the necessary amount within 
the two years following. A plan of organization for the three acad- 
emies, denning their relations to Colby University, was prepared by 
Dr. Champlin and adopted by the trustees. 

The Waterville Classical Institute still occupied the old academy 
building which had been enlarged several years before, and was then 
out of repair and insufficient to meet the demands of the endowed 
school. The need of a modern building was brought to the attention 
of Governor Coburn in 1882, shortly before the sudden death of his 
brother and partner, Hon. Stephen Coburn, who with his son Charles 
was -drowned near their home on the afternoon of July 4. As an 
enduring monument to their memory, Governor Coburn erected, at 
an expense of $38,000, the beautiful structure in which the classical 
institute now finds ample accommodations for its educational work. 

The memorial building is of brick with brown freestone trimmings. 
Its general style of architecture is the Queen Anne, but the Moorish 
style has been happily united with the English in the tower and some 
of the ornamentation. It is situated on Elm street at the head of 
Temple, and covers the site of the former building. It is 115 feet 
long, 56 feet wide, and three stories high, with two side wings. An 
octagonal tower at its northeast corner is 125 feet in height to the vane 
surmounting it, while from the center rises the turret and dome of 
the observatory. The main entrance faces Elm street, and is reached 
through a brick portico which has a freestone balustrade in front 
and stone steps at either side. Above the balustrade is an arch over 
which the name of the school is inscribed on a tablet of freestone. 

Besides the main entrance there are two other general entrances at 
either end of the main hall, leading out through ornamental porticos, 
the arches of which are supported by Corinthian columns of freestone. 
In the main gable is an elegant window composed of 511 panes cut in 
different shapes. The roof is at a sharp angle and is covered with 
slate. 

Within the building on the first floor are the recitation rooms of 
the principal and lady principal. A sliding glass partition permits 
them to be thrown into one room 52 by 56 feet in dimensions. The 
tower contains a room designed for the principal's study, and one for 



« Biographical sketch, by Rev. H. S. Burrage, D. D., in Memorial of James T. 
Champlm, 1890, p. 14. 



'JOG EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

a reading room. Across the hall are two rooms 24 by 26 feet, for the 
primary department, with doors leading from them directly to the 
play grounds in the rear. Three stairways lead to the second storj^ 
from different halls. In this story is the cabinet of natural history, 
the chemical and philosophical recitation and apparatus rooms, two 
assistant's rooms, and the library. In the third story is the chapel 
and public audience room, with a small gallery and a stage or plat- 
form. Music and art rooms are on the same floor. Numerous ante- 
rooms are found on each floor, convenient for coat rooms. 

Between the floor timbers concrete is laid for the double purpose of 
deadening the sound and preventing the spread of fire. The heating 
apparatus in the basement consists of two 16-foot boilers, which con- 
nect with 54 radiators in all parts of the building. The basement is 
also supplied with two sets of water-closets connected with the water 
supply and sewer system of the city. This important feature of every 
school building was thoroughly renovated and improved in 1892. A 
cement floor, good light, and ventilation render the basement dry and 
useful for a variety of purposes. The interior finishing is in hard 
wood and Southern pine. In the construction were used 710,000 
bricks and 7,000 lights of glass. 

The whole was erected under the supervision of Hon. E. F. Webb, 
Rev. Joseph Recker, D. D., and Hon. Moses Giddings, the building 
committee of the trustees of Colby University. The architects were 
Fassett & Stevens, of Portland; the contractors, J. and J. Philbrook, 
of Lisbon, and the masonry was done by Norton & Purinton. a From 
whatever point of view may be chosen it is a beautiful edifice, and 
deserves to be classed among the finest school buildings in New 
England. 

The semicentennial of the institution was duly celebrated July 1-3, 
1879, with appropriate exercises, including historical addresses by 
Prof. William Mathews, LL. D., one of the pupils of 1829, and by 
Rev. George B. Gow, D. D., a former pupil, assistant, and principal. 
A large number of graduates were present, and after-dinner speeches 
were made by Hon. Henry W. Paine, LL. D., of Boston, the first prin- 
cipal; Hon. Ex-Governor Nelson Dingley, M. C, a former pupil; and 
others. 

Rev. Asa L. Lane, A. M., was in 1876 appointed teacher of natural 
sciences and mathematics, in which department he has rendered valued 
service until the present time. Other assistants for shorter periods 
have been : Misses Ella Stevens, Helen A. Hodgkins, Annie E. Patten, 
Mary C. Low, Mary E. Plummer, Ollie W. Smiley, Philena N. Folger, 
A. M. Taylor, Martha F. Rice, Sophia M. Hanson, Helen F. Plaisted, 
Julia E. Winslow, Mattie E. Harris, Alice E. Sawtelle, and Mary A. 
Sawtelle. b 

« Boston Journal, corrected by the Waterville Mail, March 7. 1884. 
& Catalogues of Waterville Classical Institute, 1865-66 to 1881-82, inclusive; 
catalogues of Coburn Classical Institute, 1882-83 to 1891-92, inclusive. 



BAPTIST ACADEMIES. | 207 

THE LYFORD OBSERVATORY. 

Through the liberality of Mrs. Mary D. Lyford and her son, Edwin 
F. Lyford, now of Springfield, Mass., an observatory dome was added 
to the institute building in 1889 and equipped with a 6-inch equatorial 
telescope, of which the object glass was made by Alvan Clark & Son, 
of Cambridge, Mass. , and the mounting and driving clock by Fauth & 
Co. , of Washington, D. C. The instrument is a very fine one and is 
a valuable addition to the working apparatus of the school. It is 
inscribed: "To the memory of Moses Lyford, LL. D., for thirty years 
professor of astronomy in Colby University." 

LIBRARY. 

The institute has already a collection of books received by gift 
and occasional purchases, and numbering about 1,200 volumes. By 
bequest of the late Mrs. Helen B. Noyes, whose father gave the site 
for the original academy, the institute now possesses a library fund of 
$2,500 in memory of Hon. Timothy Boutelle. 

ADMISSION TO COLBY COLLEGE. 

Graduates from the classical course of the institute are admitted to 
Colby College without further examination on the certificate of 
the principal that they have attained an average scholarship of at 
least 70 per cent in each of the preparatory studies, this certificate 
being granted with the approval of the faculty after attendance upon 
the examinations. 

Governor Coburn died January 4, 1885. Among his generous pub- 
lic bequests of over $1,000,000 was one for Waterville Classical Insti- 
tute, to round out the sum of his benefactions here to the sum of 
$100,000. a The invested endowment funds of Coburn Classical 
Institute, in charge of the treasurer of Colby University, now amount 
to $53,919.65, including the Hanson Beneficiary Fund of $468.32 and 
the Sarah R. Ricker Memorial Fund of $105.08, subscribed for the 
purposes indicated, by the graduates of the institute. 5 

The annual catalogue of the institute for 1891-92 enumerates 92 
students in the classical department, an average attendance of 108 
each term in the English department, 57 in the college preparatory 
course, 27 in the lilies' collegiate course, and 8 in the English and 
scientific course. The roll of graduates is also given, amounting to 
120 between the years 1866-1875, 250 between 1875-1885, and 152 from 
1886 to 1892, inclusive. From the ladies' collegiate course 53 gradu- 
ated in the period 1868-1875, 74 between 1876 and 1885, and 43 from 
1886 to 1892, inclusive. 

« Life of Abner Coburn, by C. E. Williams, 1885, page 159. 
& Colby University, treasurer's report, June 1, 1892. 



[08 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 



2. HEBRON ACADEMY. 



This import ant classical school is located in the town of Hebron, in 
Oxford County. It is one of the oldest academies in Maine, having 
been chartered by the general court of Massachusetts, February 10, 
1804. The original incorporators were Rev. James Hooper, of Paris; 
Ezekiel Whitman, of New Gloucester; Dr. Cyrus Hamlin, of Paris; 
Samuel Parris, of Hebron; John Greenwood, of Hebron; Dr. Luther 
Cary, of Turner; Dr. Jesse Rice, of Minot; Rev. John Tripp, and 
Dea. William Barrows, of Hebron. 

The corporators organized June 6, 1804, choosing John Greenwood, 
president; and Rev. John Tripp, clerk. The latter continued in office 
until his death in 1847. Donations for the erection of a school build- 
ing were solicited, and on September 2, 1805, dedication services were 
held, at which a sermon was preached by Elder Tripp, and an oration 
pronounced by Zachariah Soule. The land was given by Joseph Bar- 
rows, and, with the building, was then valued at SI, 400. 

The school was opened September 3, 1805, with William Barrows, 
jr., a senior in Dartmouth College, as preceptor; and Bezaleel Cush- 
man as assistant. Over 60 pupils of both sexes were in attendance. a 

The first academy building was of wood, one story high. Near the 
center was a large chimney, with a fireplace on each side. In front of 
the chimney was an entry, and back of it were folding doors. When 
these doors were closed the house was divided into two rooms. For 
general exercises and for worship on the Sabbath the folding doors 
w T ere thrown open. 

In 1807 a grant of 11,500 acres of land was made to the academy by 
Massachusetts, after the people of the vicinity had shown their interest 
in the enterprise by raising $3,000 for its benefit. The grant was 
located in what is now the town of Monson, and 10,000 acres found a 
ready sale at 50 cents an acre, thus producing a fund of $5,000. A 
large house was now built by Deacon Barrows to accommodate the 
students, at a cost of about $3,000. This building was destroyed by 
fire December 14, 1814, but contributions from friends enabled him to 
build another of brick, which is still standing. 

The academy building, used as a school and house of worship, was 
burned in 1819, while in use for church purposes. This event led to 
the erection of a church on land obtained of tl& academy trustees 
the next year. The disaster which had befallen the school also led to 

« Address of Hon. Percival Bonney, before the Boston Baptist Social Union, 
March, 1888, June, 1890, and his article in the Hebron Semester, vol. 13, No. 1, 
November, 1891. 

Adam Wilson: Address at semicentennial of Hebron Academy, September 5, 
1855. 

J. T. Champlin: Educational Institutions of Maine while a district of Massa- 
chusetts; in Collections of the Maine Historical Society, vol, 8. Annual cata- 
logues, 1850, 1855, 1883-1890. 



BAPTIST ACADEMIES. 209 

endeavors on the part of citizens of neighboring villages to have the 
academy removed. Such efforts were ineffectual. Deacon Barrows 
and William C. Whitney, to whose efforts the school was largely 
indebted for its establishment, secured the necessary funds and erected 
a new academy building in 1820. The building was of brick, two 
stories high, with one schoolroom on each floor. The school had, in 
1828, property valued at $8,000, with an income of $475. The number 
of pupils was 30, and instruction was given ten months of the year. a 

A house for the principal was erected in 1829 by Caleb S. Barrows, 
at a cost of $800. This building, several times enlarged, is still in use 
as a dormitory and known as the ' ' trustee house. " Owing to defective 
construction the school building erected in 1820 was taken down in 
1845 and a new structure, with tower and belfry, built at an addi- 
tional cost of $520. The building was first occupied in 1847. In 1867 
a chapel was built for the use of the academy, at a cost of $1,550, of 
which citizens of Hebron furnished about $800. Mr. A. C. Herrick, 
then preceptor of the academy, was a member of the Maine legislature 
for 1868. Upon his representations of the good work of the school 
and the generous interest of the citizens in the erection of the chapel, 
the legislature appropriated the income of $1,000 for the benefit of 
the academy. 5 

At the Baptist State convention held at Bath in June, 1872, Presi- 
dent J. T. Champlin, of Colby University, presented the subject of 
endowing the Waterville Classical Institute, and also of establishing 
two other academies as feeders to the university — one in the eastern 
and one in the western part of the State. The matter was referred to 
a committee, of which Rev. W. H. Shailer, D. D., was chairman. 
This committee subsequently reported, advising that the sum of 
$100,000 be raised for the endowment of three preparatory schools, 
the money to be held b}^ the university and the interest paid to the 
treasurers of said schools. 

The trustees of Hebron Academy, which, founded and maintained 
by Baptists, had long furnished its quota of students to the .college at 
Waterville, at once took action to secure the adoption of Hebron as 
the location of the western school. The preceptor, Mr. J. F. Moody, 
and Rev. Isaiah Record, of Turner, ^appeared before the trustees of 
Colby University in July, 1874, advocating the claims of Hebron 
Academy. The claims were recognized and Hebron was selected. Mr. 
Gardner Colby was so impressed by the recital of the past history and 
future promise of the academy, that he voluntarily offered $500 toward 
the current expenses of the academy for the year. 

Of the $100,000 academy- endowment fund raised b3* Colby Univer- 
sity, $25,000 was in 1883 assigned to Hebron Academy. Many of the 

« M. Greenleaf. Survey of the State of Maine, etc., 1829, p. 369. 
& Resolves of Maine, vol. 10, chap. 278, p. 205. 

10324— No. 3—03 14 



210 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

donors to the fund designated this academy as their choice. During 
this canvass Hon. Hannibal Hamlin gave $1,000 as a library fund, 
Hon. Chester W. Kingsley, of Cambridge, Mass., founded the Kings- 
ley scholarship of $500, and Mr. David Anderson and his wife, of 
Livermore Falls, bequeathed the sum of $10,000 to Hebron Academy, 
which amount became its property in 1890. 

It now became necessary to provide better buildings for the acad- 
emy. According to the appointment of the trustees of the academy, 
Hon. Pereival Bonney, Rev. S. D. Richardson, and Principal W. E. 
Sargent presented the wants of the school in this respect before the 
trustees of Colby University at their annual meeting in 1886. The 
venerable Vice-president Hamlin heartily supported this committee. 
Mr. B. F. Sturtevant, of Jamaica Plain, Mass., a liberal contributor 
to benevolent enterprises of the Baptist denomination, was present 
for the first time at this meeting of the Colby trustees. During sev- 
eral months prior to the meeting his attention had been especially 
directed to the subject of academic education. He had previously 
contributed largely to Vermont Academy, and had given $2,000 to 
the academy-endowment fund; one-half designated for Hebron Acad- 
emy. Governor Coburn had erected three years before a $50,000 edi- 
fice for the classical institute at Waterville, and Mrs. Catherine 
Wording at this meeting had announced her gift of $30,000 for a 
building for Houlton Academy, the Eastern school. Mr. Sturtevant 
subscribed, December 1, 1886, $10,000 for an academy building at 
Hebron provided subscriptions for the purpose, including this, should 
be obtained to the amount of at least $40,000. 

Rev. C. M. Emery was appointed financial agent of the academy in 
April, 1887, and continued faithfully at work until July 1, 1889. The 
pupils of the old academy, scattered from the Atlantic to the Pacific, 
and some in foreign lands, responded nobly and met the condition 
imposed by Mr. Sturtevant, bringing up the subscriptions to $45,736, 
of which Mr. Sturtevant gave $12,500. As a result of this movement 
the academy will receive, under the will of Mrs. Catherine L. Word- 
ing, who died January 24, 1890, the sum of $5,000, and by bequest of 
Mr. Josiah W. Cook, of Cambridge, who died December 5, 1891, will 
probably receive $30,000. 

The contributions to the $40>000 subscription came from 875 per- 
sons. Maine contributed $13,585.95, while $26,936.48 came from 
Massachusetts, $1,816.40 from New Hampshire, and $3,032 from New 
York. The contributions of citizens of Maine and natives of Maine 
residing in other States amounted to $33,000. Next to Mr. Sturtevant, 
the largest donor was Seth M. Milliken; then follow Hon. C. W. 
Kingsley, Hon. E. S. Converse, Deacon J. W. Converse, John H. 
Roberts, Alvin Record, and others. 

In 1889 Mr. Edwin S. Dunham, a descendant of Deacon William 



BAPTIST ACADEMIES. 211 

Barrows and member of the board of trustees, generously donated to 
the corporation the lot of land upon which the academy building now 
fronts. 

A house for the principal has been built at a cost of $4,700. An 
elegant and commodious school building, named "Sturtevant Hall," 
in memory of the largest donor, who died April 17, 1890, has been 
erected and furnished under the supervision of Judge Bonney, chair- 
man of the building committee, at a cost of $29,000. It stands on an 
elevation facing the south and presents a fine front, visible for miles 
around. The building is of brick, two stories high, with a broad 
tower in the center. On the first floor are the assembly room, which 
will seat about 400, the dressing rooms, library of 1,000 volumes, 
reading room, and scientific department. 

The principal's room is in the tower, on the second floor, in com- 
munication with all parts of the building by electric bells. On this 
floor are the mathematical and classical rooms, with study rooms for 
the use of the students. The art room and music room are on the 
third floor. The whole building is heated by steam and supplied with 
water. The furnishing of the various rooms is complete, making a 
school building such as can hardly be surpassed in the State. The 
architect was Mr. John Calvin Stevens, of Portland. Sturtevant Hall 
was dedicated with appropriate exercises June 23, 1891. An oration 
was pronounced by Rev. A. K. P. Small, D. D., of Portland, and 
remarks were made by Hon. Mark H. Dunnell, of Minnesota, both of 
whom had served as principals of the academy. 

Addresses were also given by President A. W. Small, of Colby 
University, Principal Purington, of Farmington Normal School, Hon. 
George F. Emery, and others, following the historical address of Hon. 
Percival Bonney, who presided on that occasion, and the sermon to the 
graduating class by Rev. Francis W. Bakeman, D. D., of Chelsea, 
Mass. 

The board of instructors for 1892 is: William E. Sargent, A. M., 
principal; Isabella D. Thompson, A. B., preceptress; Charles W. 
Spencer, A. B., sciences and music; Nellie L. Whitman, mathematics; 
A. R. Crane, D. D., Biblical literature; Meda A. Gilbert, preparatory 
department; Lillian G. Stevens, elocution; Mrs. A. H. Brainard, 
drawing and painting. 

The senior class contains 19 members, of whom 6 are in the college 
preparatory course; the junior class of 22 has 6 in that course; the 
sophomore class numbers 38, and the freshman class 15. These, with 
a preparatory class of 24, make the total of attendance in the fall 
term of 1891, 118. The graduates from the college course are 
admitted without further examination to Colby College. 

Hebron Academy has been in operation every year since 1805. In 
that period it has had 34 preceptors: Wm. Barrows, jr., 1805, 1806, 



212 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

and 1812; Mr. Parmalee, 1806; Mr. Weeks, 1806; Thomas Fessenden, 
L809-1811; James Merrill, 1811 ; John Eveleth, 1814-1816; Stephen 
Emery, 1817; M. B. Sargent, 1817, 1818; Israel W. Bourne, 1818; 
Moses Emery, 1819; Ephraim Tripp, 1822, 1823; William A. Lane, 
1823; Stephen Coburn, 1824; Simeon Perkins, 1824-1832; Dudley 
P. Bailey, 1832; Isaac Palmer, 1833; Jacob L. Mitchell, 1834-1836; 
Ebenezer Dole, jr., 1836; Josiah A. Bearce, 1837; Ozias Millett, 1838- 
1844; B. F. Parsons, 1844-1847; G. G. Fairbanks, 1847-1849; A. 
K. P. Small, 1849-1851; George M. Staples, 1851; Mark H. Dunnell, 
1852-1855; Go wen C, Wilson, 1855; Charles J. Prescott, 1855-1857; 
Selden F. Neal, 1857-1860; Joseph F. Elder, 1860; A. C. Herrick, 
1861-1871; J. F. Moody, 1871-1879; E. A. Daniels, 1879-1881; W. W. 
Mayo, 1881-1885; since 1885 William E. Sargent. 

3. BICKER CLASSICAL INSTITUTE. 
I. Houlton Academy. 

This is the third fitting school connected with Colby College, and 
is situated at Houlton, in Aroostook County. A charter for an 
academy at this place was granted by the legislature of Maine, March 
29, 1837, but no school was established under it. Ten years later 
another charter was obtained and approved June 14, 1847. The cor- 
porate trustees of Houlton Academy, then chartered, were Joseph 
Carr, jr., Leonard Pierce, Zebulon Ingersoll, John Hodgdon, Jeremiah 
True worthy, Shepard Cary, Zenas P. Wentworth, and Benjamin L. 
Staples. 

Their first meeting was held on the 3d day of July, 1847, when John 
Hodgdon was chosen president and Benjamin L. Staples secretary. 

By a resolve approved July 31, 1847, the academy received a grant 
of a half township of land in Aroostook County, afterwards desig- 
nated as township 14 in range 3, on condition that the corporation, 
prior to October, 1849, should have furnished a good and convenient 
academical building, have commenced a school therein, and should 
have possession of corporate property to the amount of at least 
$1,000. The proceeds of the sale of this land, held in trust by the 
State treasurer, is $2,000, upon which the State paj'S 6 per cent 
interest. 65 

At a meeting of the trustees, August 16, a committee, consisting 
of Shepard Cary, Jeremiah Trueworthy, and John Hodgdon, was 
appointed to select a suitable site and procure a draft of an academy 
building. Land was purchased of Collins Whittaker, and a building 
erected in 1848. The school opened with Mr. Milton Welch as princi- 
pal, in the fall of the same year, and continued under his instruction 
until 1851. The second story of the building was used as a court room 



a Resolves of Maine. Census Bulletin No. 162, February 13. 1892 



..,f 




BAPTIST ACADEMIES. 213 

for several years until a court-house was built. The school was con- 
fined to the lower story for about twenty years. 

In 1868 Principal Fernald was requested to procure and submit to 
the trustees plans for a new building. In October of the same year 
Benjamin L. Staples, Theodore Cary, and Francis Barnes were chosen 
a committee to enter into a contract for the erection of the building. 
Mr. George x M. Harding, of Portland, was the architect and Mr. John 
Wadsworth, builder, completing the new academy in 1870, at an 
expense of about $6,500. a 

A course of study of three years length was established in 1870. In 
1874 the trustees accepted a proposition to give their property in trust 
to Colby University on condition that an endowment of $25,000 be 
raised, and in 1877 the academy became the eastern fitting school 
of that college. 

In July, 1886, Mrs. Catherine L. Wording made a gift of $30,000 for 
the purpose of erecting an academy building as a memorial of her 
late husband, Hon. William E. Wording, of Racine, Wis., a native of 
Castine, Me., and a member of the board of trustees of Colby Univer- 
sity, his alma mater, to whose funds he was a liberal contributor. 
Judge Wording died at Fargo, 1ST. Dak., January 23, 1886. 

WORDING HALL. 

This building is situated on the corner of Military and High streets, 
upon high ground, near the center of the village. It is constructed 
of brick, with freestone trimmings. John Calvin Stevens, of Portland, 
was the architect and John E. Burrows the contractor. There are 
two main entrances, one from each street, and a rear entrance. Over 
the young men's entrance is placed a memorial tablet. On the right 
of the archway forming the entrance an octagonal tower rises, crowned 
with an observatory. The ladies' entrance is covered by a brick 
porch with lattice windows. High above this is a tablet inscribed 
" Ricker Classical Institute." 

The entire building is heated by steam ; both the direct system of 
heating through radiators and the indirect through registers are 
employed. At the right of the boys' entrance, passing through the 
coat room, one reaches the main study room. Seven large windows 
on the north and two on the west admit ample light upon the left 
and back of the pupils. A large antique fireplace and bookcase in 
the rear, a piano in front, and pictures on the walls add a home-like 
appearance. The room is seated with the ' ' Globe " single desks, made 
of birch and maple, which harmonize with the interior finish. This 
room is separated from another large study room on the south by 
sliding windows so arranged that the two rooms can be made into one 
whenever desired. This room is also well lighted, and the seats 

« Catalogue of Ricker Classical Institute, 1888-89, Appendix. 



214 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

arranged to bring the light upon the left of the student. From this 
room doors lead into the class room for modern languages, the ladies' 
dressing room, and the entrance hall. The rest of the first floor is 
occupied by a Large recitation room for classes in mathematics, a 
reading room, a library, and the principal's private office, all of which 
are well furnished and adapted to their special purposes. The corri- 
dors are finished in ash. A wide stairway with a broad landing mid- 
way leads to the second floor. This floor is occupied mainly by 
memorial hall, used as an assembly hall, and having a seating 
capacity of 500. It is finished up into the roof, showing the hard- 
pine truss work, and has a raised platform in front, and in the rear 
a gallery entered from the third floor. The beautiful oil paintings of 
Judge Wording, Mrs. Wording, and their son, who died at the age of 
7, hang above the platform. The portrait of Mrs. Wording was pre- 
sented by Stillman W. McLaughlin, esq., of Grand Forks, N. Dak., 
and the other two by Mrs. Wording herself. 

The class room for chemistry and physics, on the second floor, is 
very convenient and admirably suited for these recitations. The 
seats are arranged upon rising platforms overlooking the instructor's 
table, where experiments are performed. On the right of the teach- 
ers' table is a chemical laboratory, supplied with water, and upon 
the left a room for physical apparatus. There are yet two other 
rooms upon this floor, one a double room, with folding doors between 
the two parts, and the other a music room. 

The roof is high enough so that three large rooms are finished on 
the third floor, one of which contains the cases for specimens illus- 
trating natural history and geology, and is used for classes in these 
subjects; another is designed as an art room, and the third is a spare 
class room. Entrance to the tower is gained from this floor. 

Wording Hall was dedicated with appropriate services June 28, 1888. 
Hon. Moses Giddings, of Bangor, presided on that occasion. An 
address in behalf of the citizens of Houlton was given by John B. 
Madigan, esq., and the report of the building committee by Hon. E. F. 
Webb, of Waterville. President George D. B. Pepper, D. D., of 
Colby University, gave an able dedicatory address. Rev. J< B. 
Thomas, D. D., of Newton Theological Institution, and Rev. Joseph 
Ricker, D. D., of Augusta, also participated in the exercises. 

II. Ricker Classical Institute. 

The present name of the school was adopted in 1887, in commemo- 
ration of the personal gifts and labors of Rev. Joseph Ricker, D. D., 
of Augusta, for many years the devoted secretary of the Maine Baptist 
Convention and a prominent member of the board of trustees of 
Colby College. Through his labors the endowment fund was raised 
to $40,000, and the school became part of the educational system of 
Colby College. 



BAPTIST ACADEMIES. 215 

NORMAL DEPARTMENT. 

The normal course was introduced at the beginning of the fall term 
of 1889, and now forms an important part of the school. It is sup- 
ported by an annual appropriation of $1,000 from the State and is 
under the supervision of the State superintendent. Included in this 
department is the model school, in which pupils test their proficiency 
by actual teaching. 

Eighteen different persons have stood at the head of the school as 
principals since its organization. Given below are their names and 
the date at which they began to teach, as nearly as can be ascertained : 
1848, September, Milton Welch; 1851, Theophilus C. Abbot; 1852, 
Lewis L. Record; 1853, William Holt; 1855, September, Milton Welch; 
1856, September, Cyrus II. Carleton; 1857, September, Lyman S. 
Strickland; 1858, December, George B. Towle; 1859, October, J. 
Quincy Barton; 1862, March, A. Quincy Randall; 1864, March, Ran- 
som Norton; 1865, March, Merritt C. Fernald; 1866, September, 
Charles H. Fernald; 1871, October, E. R. Thorndike; 1871, Decem- 
ber, Nehemiah Ayer; 1872, September, Miss Mattie C. Call; 1874, 
December, Nathaniel Melcher; 1875, September, William S. Knowl- 
ton; 1885, August, Arthur M. Thomas. 

The corps of instructors for 1892-93 is composed of: Arthur M. 
Thomas, A. M., principal, Greek and sciences; Miss Martha B. Rus- 
sell, preceptress, history and English literature; Reuben L. Ilsley, 
A. B., Latin and mathematics; Llewellyn M. Felch, principal of the 
normal department; Miss Mattie E. Knowlen, model school; H. H. 
Bryant, principal of commercial department; C. D. Daggett, short- 
hand and typewriting; F. L. Varney, penmanship. 

The catalogue for 1892-93 gives the following summary of attend- 
ance: 

Graduates, class of 1892 12 

College course 48 

Academic course •_ 11 

English course 49 

Normal course _. 34 

Commercial course 25 

Shorthand and typewriting . 6 

Unclassified 19 

Preparatory . _ . . ^ 17 

Model school _ 25 

Total 246 

Number in two courses 4 

Whole number of students _ 242 

Exclusive of model school: 

Young men _ 97 

Young ladies 120 



216 



EDUCATION IN MAINE. 
Attendance by terms. 





Total 
attend- 
ance. 


Model 
school. 


Winter, 1891-52 - ... 


180 
105 
143 
126 


14 


Spring 


18 


Fall.: 


18 




17 







1SS6 
1887 
1S88 
1889 



Average attendance since 18S6. 

1890 

1891 

1892 



79 

ft 9, 



. 89 
. 101 
. 126 



4. HIGGINS CLASSICAL INSTITUTE. 

This institute, located at Charleston, in Penobscot County, is the 
fourth preparatory school of Colby College. Though chartered in 
1891, it is the successor of Charleston Academy, which was incorpo- 
rated in 1837. 

Charleston Academy originated with the Penobscot Association of 
Baptist Churches. At its meeting in 1835 a committee, of which Otis 
Briggs was chairman, presented a resolve which was adopted, viz: 

Resolved, That an academy of a high character ought to be established in this 
county under the patronage of this association, and that a committee be appointed 
for this purpose — 

Accordingly a committee of 12 was appointed and — 

invested with discretionary power to carry forward the object of their appoint- 
ment as far as they shall deem practicable, and make report of their doings at the 
next meeting of this body. 

At the meeting of the association in 1836 this committee reported 
at length, through Samuel Garnsey, chairman. As the result of 
inquiries made in several towns it was finally decided at a meeting 
held in Corinth, June 21, 1836, to locate the academy at Charleston. 
Mr. N. Gr. Norcross presented a large and beautiful lot of land for the 
necessary buildings, and the sum Of $3,500 was subscribed in aid of 
the enterprise, chiefly by citizens of Charleston. The committee rec- 
ommenced that steps be taken to secure a charter, which was duly 
granted by the legislature of 1837. A building, 34 by 48 feet and two 
stories high, was erected the same year. The report of the committee 
indicates that the interest of the people of that vicinity was very gen- 
erally manifested, and concludes with expressing the hope that the 
"embryo school" may diffuse the blessings of education, morals, and 
religion throughout every town, village, and hamlet in this new and 
rising section of our State. a 



"Minutes of the Penobscot Baptist Association, for 1835, 1S36, 1837. 



BAPTIST ACADEMIES. " 217 

By the terms of the charter two-thirds of the trustees of the acad- 
emy were to be chosen by the Penobscot Association. The minutes 
of that body for 1837 record the report of the committee on incorpora- 
tion, and the resolve commending the school to patronage. Mr. 
Samuel Silsbee, a recent graduate of Bowdoin College, was the first 
preceptor. He was followed in 1838 by Mr. E. M. Thurston, from 
Waterville College, who continued in charge of the school until 1844. 
The academy soon acquired a reputation for excellence which attracted 
students from all parts of the State. Mr. Thurston afterwards ren- 
dered important educational service as secretary of the State board 
of education. 

The Maine Baptist Theological Association established a theological 
institution in connection with Charleston Academy for a short time 
in 1838. Although the trustees of the academy offered to surrender 
the charter to the theological association, the offer was not accepted, 
and the theological school was removed to Thomaston, where its 
struggle for existence ended in a few years. 

The academy, with but a small endowment and remote from the 
larger towns of the State, continued for fifty years its beneficent 
work of higher education. At a reunion held in 1876 about 150 of 
the former teachers and pupils were present. 

In 1890 the trustees of the academy offered it to Colby University 
for their fourth preparatory school. A committee of the trustees of 
Colby visited the place and reported in favor of accepting the school. 
Rev. J. H. Higgins, of Charleston, offered to give $25,000 toward an 
endowment fund for the new academy, provided Colby University 
would add $25,000 within ten years. 

This generous pledge was at once accepted. It was now deemed 
best to apply to the legislature for a new charter, relinquishing the 
name of Charleston Academy in favor of one that should commemo- 
rate the liberality of its benefactor. Accordingly a charter was 
obtained February 20, 1891, for a classical school under the designa- 
tion of " Higgins Classical Institute." 

The corporators named in the new charter are John H. Higgins, 
Henry Hudson, Joseph B. Peaks, S. C. Fletcher, Sewall Brown, G. B. 
Ilsley, J. E. Locke, H. R. Mitchell, Will Eaton, David Knights, 
D. Humphrey, David Fletcher, Prentiss Kittredge, Elmer Cole, and 
Francis Harvey. Permission is given to hold property whose annual 
income shall not exceed $20,000. 

Organization was effected May 1, 1891, and Rev. J. H. Higgins was 
elected president of the board of trustees, W. H. Eaton, secretary, and 
D. S. Humphrey, treasurer. With a brief intermission between the 
last ter" m of the old academy and the first term of the new institute, 
school exercises were resumed February, 1891, after extensive addi- 
tions and repairs had been made to the buildings. A campus con- 
taining 16 acres was purchased; a lot of 4 acres was given for a ball 



'218 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

ground by 11. H. Noreross, of Somerville, Mass. The lot purchased 
included buildings for a principal's residence. H. L. Tibbetts, of 
Lowell, Mass., C. F. Tibbetts, of Charleston, Me., and Clarence Tib- 
betts, of New York, gave $1,700 to found the Tibbetts' Library, the 
fund of which, will be $1,000. 

COURSES OF STUDY. 

Besides a general course of one year, the work of the school is 
embraced in two courses of four years each. The academic course is 
intended to serve the purpose of a complete education, many of the 
studies being elective. The college preparatory course is substan- 
tially that required for admission to the colleges of New England. 
On completing this course the student is admitted to Colby College 
without further examination, provided he has taken the required 
rank entitling him to a diploma. 

Board in private families is furnished for $2 to $2.50 per week. 
The trustee house, erected in 1891, is intended to supply rooms for 
the students of the institute. Board is here furnished at $2.50 per 
week. 

The rates of tuition are: Common English, $4 per term; higher 
English and languages, $5 per term. The year is divided into four 
terms of eleven w^eeks each, the first term beginning the first week in 
September. The whole number of students in 1891-92 was 79. The 
board of instruction for 1891-92 was composed as follows: 05 

C. C. Richardson, A. M., principal, Greek, history, French, and German; W. J. 
Hideout, associate principal, mathematics and natural science; Georgia C. Mor- 
ton, preceptress, Latin, English literature, and drawing; W. H. Eaton, assistant 
in English; A. H. Perley, instructor in telegraphy; Mabel A. Humphrey, teacher 
of instrumental music; Nellie A. Coggins, teacher of painting. 

« First Annual Catalogue of Higgins Classical Institute, 1892; Reports of the 
President and Faculty of Colby University, 1891; Acts and Resolves of Maine, 1891. 



Chapter XI. 

METHODIST INSTITUTIONS. 



1. MAINE WESLEYAN SEMINARY AND FEMALE COLLEGE. 



This flourishing seminary is indebted for its existence to the labors 
and gifts of Mr. Luther Sampson, a prosperous farmer, who lived 
in the village of Kents Hill. Mr. Sampson, in the year 1821, pro- 
cured from the legislature of Maine an act of incorporation under 
the name of the "Readfield Religious and Charitable Society." 
Associated with him as trustees were Charles Kent, John Hubbard, 
Abraham Morrill, Zachariah Gibson, and John Morris. a 

Among the objects sought to be accomplished by this society Vere: 
Aiding the Kents Hill school district to extend the time and influence 
of its school, and collecting a library for the people of Readfield. 

The gifts of Mr. Sampson to this society in real and personal estate 
amounted to about $10,000, a large sum at that period. 

In 1823 Mr. Sampson directed that a part of his donation should 
be applied to the establishment and for the benefit of a school to be 
located on the premises, in Readfield, " for the purpose of affording 
instruction in the principles of experimental Christianity, theology, 
literature, and the practical knowledge of agriculture and the mechanic 
arts."* 

A society with aims so comprehensive must soon outgrow any local 
designation, and, accordingly, we find the trustees, in May, 1824, 
voting to assume the name of the Maine Methodist Society, and in 
December of the same year modifying this title into the Maine Wes- 
leyan Seminary. 

The Maine legislature by act of January 20, 1825, authorized this 
change of name, by which the school has since become widely known. 
The same act enlarged the board of trustees to 25, exclusive of addi- 
tional trustees previously provided for, and made persons residing in 
any part of the State eligible to that position. It also repealed the 
provision requiring that the trustees should be elected from the mem- 
bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church. c 

« Laws of Maine. 

&S. Allen. History of Methodism in Maine, p. 204. 

c Special Laws of Maine, vol. 1, pp. 429-430. 

219 



220 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

Mr. Elihu Robinson, who had established in his house at Augusta, 
in 1820, a school for the instruction of Methodist youth, was induced 
by Mr. Sampson to remove his school to Kents Hill and unite it with 
the new seminary. The general management of the institution was 
placed in his hands on the 27th of February, 1824. A seminary build- 
ing was soon after erected, plain and unpretentious, followed soon 
after by mechanic shops for a manual-labor department. 

It was quite in harmony with the most advanced educational 
theories of that day, to make provision for students to earn their school 
expenses by work on the farm or at various trades. The experiment 
was tried at the college at Water ville and at many other schools dur- 
ing the dozen years in which the manual-labor department was main- 
tained at the seminary. This department went into operation in 
1825, with capital amounting to $3,000, invested in buildings and tools 
for labor on the farm and in the shops. Writing, in 1829, the princi- 
pal says : 

The experiment has fully equaled the expectations of the founders. We find 
no difficulty in classing those who labor with those who do not, indeed, some who 
have paid nearly all their expenses by their labor have outstripped any of those 
who have not belonged to the laboring department. The health of the students 
has been uniformly good. The popularity of the system with the students is high, 
indeed nearly all who attend the institution would be glad to avail themselves of 
its advantages. « 

The statements are fully corroborated by the extracts from the 
report of the trustees appended to the principal's letter. This report 
further states that ''of the 65 belonging to this class, 38 are employed 
during the winter vacation in teaching school and 10 are fitting for 
college. Of the whole number that attended the seminary the last 
term, 50 are 21 years of age and upward, most of whom belong to the 
laboring class." The amount realized from the farm in 1829 was 
about $500, and the amount of work done at the mechanic shop was 
estimated at $700. The branches of work carried on were chair mak- 
ing, cabinet work, turning, sash making, and tool making. Shoemak- 
ing was abandoned as an unhealthy occupation for students, and 
some attention was given to coopering, though with little success. 

Five hours a day were devoted to labor, compensation for which 
varied according to the ability and industry of the student. If a stu- 
dent earned more than his board, which, including lodging and wash- 
ing, was only $1.75 per week, he was paid the balance remaining to 
his credit, but payment was made "in the products of their own 
industry." 6 

Doubtless the scanty earnings thus made possible helped many a 
poor boy to get an education otherwise beyond his reach. But as a 
source of revenue, or even a self-sustaining department, the plan 

('American Quarterly Register, Nov. 1829, vol. 2, p. 110. 
& Catalogue for 1837-38, p. 15. 



MAINE WESLEYAN SEMINAEY. 221 

here as elsewhere proved a failure and, after twelve years' trial was 
abandoned. Most of the labor was unskilled, not worth the low price 
paid it, and the articles made were often of so inferior quality that 
sales were slow and unremunerative. The farm rapidly depreciated 
in value, while the outlay for materials, tools, stock, and superintend- 
ence constant^ exceeded the receipts from the sale of manufactures 
and farm produce. 

FEMALE DEPARTMENT. 

As early as 1832 the young women attending the seminary were 
grouped into a special division with the above title and placed under 
the care of a preceptress. The instruction given in this department 
included ' ' music and scientific and ornamental drawing. " An act of 
the legislature, March 20, 1853, authorized the establishment of a 
"female collegiate institute," under the same privileges as the sem- 
inary. In 1856 there were in attendance during the fall term 85 
young ladies, exactly equaling the number of students in the male 
department. 

The increasing importance of this branch of the institution, and 
the enlargement of its courses of study led to an application for a 
charter as a female college, which was granted by act of the legisla- 
ture, approved March 14, 1863, changing the corporate name to the 
Maine Wesley an Seminary and Female College. a 

The curriculum of the college course for ladies is now the following : b 

FIRST YEAR. 

Fall. — Physics. Livy, French and French composition, linear perspective. 
Winter. — Cicero de Senectute et Amicitia, French and French literature, physi- 
ology, freehand drawing. 
Spring. — Ovid or methods of teaching, history of Rome, physics. 

SECOND YEAR. 

Fall. — Geometry, Tacitus, rhetoric. 

Winter. — Trigonometry, physical geography, civil government, history of art. 

Spring. — Astronomy, comparative zoology, German. 

THIRD YEAR. 

Fall. — English history, German and German composition, chemistry. 
Winter. — English literature, German, or advanced American history, political 
economy. 
Spring. — Botany, English literature, German and German literature, elocution. 

\ FOURTH YEAR. 

Fall. — Mental science, botany, geology. 

Winter. — Theism and Christian evidences, history of civilization, German. 

« Special Laws of Maine, Vol. VII, p. 140, and Vol. IX, p. 247. 
& Catalogue for 1891, and Circular for 1892. 



OOQ 



EDUCATION IN MAINE. 



Spring. — Moral science, logic, practical chemistry and mineralogy or Horace, 
elocution. 

Public declamation and English composition throughout the course. 

Original orations during the fourth year. 

A Greek course (elective) includes the following authors: Xenophon, Homer, 
Herodotus, Thucydides. 

Bible study throughout the course. 

Advanced work in music or fine art may be substituted for six of the above 
studies, subject to the approval of the faculty. 

The degree of artium baccalaureata is conferred on young ladies 
who have satisfactorily completed this course, and the second degree 
of artium magistra is conferred on graduates of not less than three 
years' standing. 

NORMAL DEPARTMENT. 

Many of the students at Kents Hill are of sufficient maturity and 
attainments to warrant them in seeking employment during the winter 
or summer in teaching district schools. To aid in qualifying such 
persons a special department has for many years been conducted, 
which in 1892 offers this training course of one year, viz: 

Fall. — Model arithmetic, model grammar, psychology, bookkeeping, freehand 
drawing, penmanship, vocal music. 

Winter. — Model geography, model history, physiology, civil government, school 
laws of Maine, freehand drawing, vocal music. 

Spring. — Model geometry, model botany, art and science of teaching, school 
organization, history of education, English authors, elocution. 

Only professional work is designed to be included in the above 
course. Students may take the normal course while pursuing other 
courses. Practice classes are formed, in which the ■ students are 
"required to give teaching exercises in the subject studied to the 
other members of the class," and a public exercise of this nature 
must be given by each member at least once each half term. The 
district school in the vicinity is used as a model school. The names 
of 11 young men and 51 young women were enrolled in this depart- 
ment in 1891. 

CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC. 

Musical culture has always been included in the education fur- 
nished at this seminary, particularly in its female department. 
Improved facilities and a gradual extension of courses to meet actual 
demands have now developed a department of instruction with the 
title above given. In it are included (1) a pianoforte scientific 
course, (2) a professional pianoforte course, (3) an amateur's piano- 
forte course, each of these courses extending through four years. 
The conservatory is supplied with 9 pianos. Courses of instruction 
on the organ and the violin are offered, as well as instruction in tun- 
ing pianos and organs and in orchestral work. The course in vocal 
culture includes preparation for teaching music in common schools 
or normal music. 



MAINE WESLEYAN SEMINARY. 223 

Students pursuing the regular course in pianoforte, organ, voice, 
or orchestral instruments are required to take one year in theory and 
four terms in harmony, or counterpoint or composition. Graduates 
from the vocal course are expected to complete the three grades in 
the piano course, and to pass an examination in sight singing and in 
normal music. Diplomas are given to all graduates, and to under- 
graduates certificates of standing in branches pursued. 

The degree of musicse magister will be conferred on all who shall 
have completed the pianoforte scientific course or \he vocal scientific 
course. 

The students in the several conservatory courses in 1891 were: 
Pianoforte courses : Senior, 2; junior, 1; third grade, 4; second grade, 
12; first grade, 17; total, 36. Voice-culture professional course: 
Fourth grade, 1; third grade, 2; second grade, 3; first grade, 26; 
total, 32. Orchestral course: Fourth grade, 2; third grade, 1; sec- 
ond grade, 3; first grade, 19; total, 25, of whom 19 are taught violin 
playing, 3 cornet, 2 double bass, and 1 trombone. Forty-six are 
enrolled in the normal vocal course. 

ART SCHOOL. 

There is also a three years' course in art, both theoretical and prac- 
tical, at the completion of which a diploma is conferred. Free-hand 
drawing is continued through the course; one year is assigned to 
modeling, and the study of linear perspective is required. Water- 
color painting is followed by painting in oil, and one composition a 
week is required from each art student during the last year. The 
principles of architectural drafting are taught, and also of photog- 
raphy. ^Esthetics and the history of art are studied by text-book 
and lectures with aid from a collection of illustrative photographs 
and casts. A satisfactory original work must be left in the school by 
every student who receives a diploma. In 1891 the fine-art course 
had 10 young lady students, with 55 gentlemen and ladies entered in 
a special course. 

COLLEGE COURSE. 

This course occupies four years, and furnishes a thorough prepara- 
tion in the studies required for entrance to any college in New Eng- 
land. Eighteen pupils were enrolled in 1891. During the past few 
years Kents Hill graduates have been found in each of the following 
colleges: Bowdoin, Colby, Bates, Maine State, Dartmouth, Tufts, Wil- 
liams, Harvard, Amherst, Wellesley, Boston, Wesleyan, Yale, Michi- 
gan University, and the University of the Pacific. 

SEMINARY COURSES. 

These are both scientific and classical, and constitute the chief work 
of the school. The students in the four classes numbered, in 1891, 
198, divided as follows: Seniors, 33; juniors, 62; second year, 57; first 
year, 46. 



224 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

For its science teaching the institution is provided with good cabinets 
and apparatus, which are being constantly increased by gifts and by 
purchase. It has a valuable cabinet of minerals ; a collection of shells 
and of marine invertebrates from the Atlantic coast; a physical lan- 
tern with accessories; 400 lantern slides for illustration in geology, 
biology, physics, astronomy, history, and art; maps and charts; physi- 
ological models; physical apparatus, illustrating mechanics, sound, 
light, and electricity; compound microscopes; an engineer's and sur- 
veyor's transit an,d a compass; a telescope, with 5-inch object glass, 
constructed by Alvan Clark & Sons, etc. 

The department occupies five rooms in Bearce Hall — lecture room, 
cabinet, and chemical and general laboratories. A new and enlarged 
chemical laboratory has recently been fitted up which accommodates 
20 students, each with separate table and apparatus. 

COMMERCIAL COURSE. 

To meet the needs of those seeking preparation for business a 
course extending through one year is offered in the following studies, 
viz, bookkeeping, commercial arithmetic, penmanship, spelling, gram- 
mar, commercial law, business customs, correspondence, civil govern- 
ment, business practice. Instruction is also given in the Benn Pitman 
system of shorthand and in typewriting. One hundred and fifteen 
students were enrolled in this department in 1891. 

Library and reading room. — The library contains about 6,000 
bound volumes, and is sufficiently endowed to insure a uniform and 
healthy growth. Its contents are selected and arranged with a special 
view to the needs of students and teachers. The reading room is well 
appointed and supplies the papers and periodicals of the day. 

Societies. — There are three literary societies, the Calliopean and 
the Literati for gentlemen, and the Adelphian for ladies. Each 
society holds a private meeting on Friday evenings, and one public 
meeting each term. Each occupies a beautiful and elegantly furnished 
hall, of which it has exclusive possession and control. There is also 
a Young Men's Christian Association and a Young Woman's Society 
of Christian Endeavor. 

FINANCIAL HISTORY. 

At the close of the first decade of the existence of the seminary it 
was found that a considerable debt had arisen from the failure of 
the receipts from tuition and the workshops to meet the expenses. 
Rev. Asa Heath was appointed in 1830 agent to solicit funds, and 
Rev. Charles Baker acted as agent the following year. A subscrip- 
tion of $1,360 was pledged at the session of the Maine Methodist con- 
ference in 1831, in response to an appeal made by Mr. Caldwell, the 
principal. A grant of $2,000 from the State, March 30, 1831, a supple- 

« Resolves of Maine, vol. 2, pp. 225, 38, and vol. 1, p. 569. 



MAINE WESLEY AN SEMINAEY. 225 

meriting a previous grant of $600 February 20, 1829, and of one-half 
of a six-miles-square township of wild land granted February 20, 1827, 
enabled the trustees, with the help of occasional donations, to continue 
the school until 1833. The report of the treasurer in May, 1834, 
showed a recurrence of the deficit, and at the instance of the trustees 
the Maine conference appointed Rev. Gershom F. Cox agent to solicit 
subscriptions for a fund of $10,000. Many of the subscriptions thus 
obtained were in the form of scholarships, by ^ hich the donors of 
$400, and in some ceases of only $200, could have the school bills of 
those under their nomination entirely remitted, or the interest upon 
smaller donations applied toward the payment of tuition. a Mr. Cox 
succeeded in raising the proposed amount during that year, and 
James Dinsmore, esq., one of the trustees, obtained $6,000 additional 
the following year. But the increased expenditure consequent upon 
the popularity of the seminary, the enlargement of buildings and cur- 
tailing of tuition fees from the effect of scholarship certificates, grad- 
ually brought the treasury into a deplorable condition, and in 1840 it 
was found that the entire funds had been used up and the seminary 
was again deeply in debt. All the property at the disposal of the 
trustees was sold and applied to the payment of creditors, but an 
indebtedness of several thousand dollars remained unpaid. The prin- 
cipal, Rev. William C. Larrabee, who had assumed the entire responsi- 
bility for the expenses of the institution, found himself deeply 
involved, and felt obliged to abandon the enterprise. 

Under these conditions, in the winter of 1841, Rev. Stephen Allen, 
with a corps of five devoted assistants, took charge of the school. The 
buildings were repaired to some extent, but the claims of certain 
annuities and the lessened receipts from tuition of those holding 
scholarships, left small compensation for the faithful labors of the 
teachers. 

Mr. Henry P. Torsey, one of the assistants, became principal on the 
retirement of Mr. Allen in 1844, and it was stipulated that he should 
receive all the income, furnish the instruction, make needful repairs 
and meet the incidental expenses. The school prospered, became 
self-supporting, and soon outgrew its accommodations. Rev. D. B. 
Randall was made soliciting agent, and through his efforts and the 
generosity of many of the creditors the burden of debt was lifted, and 
a relinquishment of annuity and scholarship claims was obtained. The 
venerable patron of the school, Luther Sampson, aided in the work 
and subscribed $1,500 toward a new building. Principal Allen sur- 
rendered his claim of $1,000 for services. The Maine conference 
interested itself in the building enterprise. At a convention held in 
Biddeford in 1853 a considerable sum was pledged, including $1,000 
from E. Clark, M. D., of Portland. Rev. S. Allen continued the 

a S. Allen. Methodism in Maine, p. 208. 
10324— No. 3—03 15 



22G EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

work of soliciting agent from year to year, until enough had been 
obtained to erect the large brick building to which was given the 
name of 

SAMPSON HALL. 

This edifice was dedicated and occupied August 10, 1860. It contains 
a chapel, parlors, recitation rooms and boarding accommodations for 
140 students. It is well supplied with water, bathrooms, and other 
conveniences. The main building is four stories high, 100 feet in 
length and 40 feet wide. An extension in the rear is 60 by 40 feet in 
dimensions. The entire cost of the building, grading, and furnishing 
was about $35,000. The board of trustees now resolved to raise $35,000 
additional for an endowment fund, and $25,000 to provide a suitable 
building for the female colleger 

The financial standing of the institution thus restored, with the 
impetus gained by the completion of a noble structure, the school 
continued to prosper. The appeals of the agent met with a generous 
response. Before another decade had passed, funds for the erection 
of another building had been secured. 

BEARCE HALL. 

Named in commemoration of the liberality of Samuel R. Bearce, 
esq., it was completed in 1871, at a cost of $42,000. This building is 
devoted to the general purposes of the seminary, and furnishes the 
recitation rooms, laboratories, chapel, librae, art rooms, and halls for 
the literary societies. Blethen hall, a beautiful home for the presi- 
dent, has since been erected at a convenient location on the seminary 
grounds. 

FINANCIAL CONDITION. 

The report of the treasurer, Hon. J. J. Perry, made to the trustees, 
July 1, 1891, presented the following exhibit: 

Real estate ! $107,450.00 

Investments 33, 490. 79 

Other personal property 17, 666. 00 



Total 158.606. 



To this should be added the property held by the Maine Wesleyan 
board of education as trustee, the income of which is annually paid 
to the treasurer of the seminary, viz : 

Real estate, $6,625; investments, $69,462.73; total $76,087.73, mak- 
ing a total of $234,694.52 to the credit of the seminary. 

« Account in Zion's Advocate, August 17 and 24, 1860. 



EAST MAINE CONFERENCE SEMINARY. 227 

Among the friends of the institution who have contributed largely 
to its funds should be mentioned the following : 

Luther Sampson, Readfield $12,000 

Samuel R. Bearce, Lewiston 37, 000 

Eliphalet Clark, Portland 60,000 

William Deering, Chicago 12, 000 

ReubenB. Dunn, Waterville 10,000 

E. H. Gammon, Chicago 5, 000 

Ammi Loring, North Yarmouth : 8, 000 

BOARD OF INSTRUCTION. 

The officers of the seminary for 1891 are — 

Rev. Edgar M. Smith, A. M., D. D., president, elocution, and Eliphalet Clark 
professor of metaphysics. 

Rev. Henry P. Torsey, D. D., LL. D., emeritus professor of metaphysics. 

Henry E. Trefethen, A. M., Stephen Allen professor of Greek and Latin. 

Lyon L. Norton, A. B., mathematics and astronomy. 

Samuel N. Taylor, Ph. B., Henry P. Torsey professor of the natural sciences. 

Adelbert F. Caldwell, A. B., English literature, history, and rhetoric. 

Fannie A. Davis, A. M., preceptress, French and German. 

Lulu G. Adams, A. M., Latin. 

Gertrude L. Stone, A. M., R. B. Dunn professor of normal instruction. 

2. EAST MAINE CONFERENCE SEMINARY. 

That portion of the Maine Methodist Conference lying east of the 
Kennebec River was in 1847 declared a separate and independent 
organization. At the first annual session the next year it was 
promptly voted to establish a seminary, to be located on the banks of 
the Penobscot, and a board of 24 trustees was chosen. In response 
to a circular issued by the trustees, inviting proposals for the location 
of such a school in that region, the citizens of Bucksport offered to 
give for that purpose land valued at $500, and in other property, 
$2,500. The East Maine Conference in 1849 accepted this offer and 
voted to commence the erection of a seminary building. a 

A charter was obtained from the Maine legislature June 14, 1850, 
authorizing the seminary to hold estate, real and personal, the annual 
income of which should not exceed $3,000. A brick building for 
chapel and recitation rooms was completed in 1851. The location 
thus determined for the seminary is on the summit of " Oak Hill," 
overlooking the village and harbor of Bucksport, the ancient Fort 
Knox, and the charming scenery about "The Narrows" of Maine's 
chief river. 

The conference of 1851 resolved to raise $10,000, including what 
had already been given, as a nucleus for an endowment and building 
fund. 

« W. H. Pilsbury. History of Methodism in East Maine, p. 184. 



228 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

Rev. L. L. Knox was elected first principal, and the school opened 
August 20, 1851, with 27 pupils. 

The conference adopted, at its meeting in 1852, a resolution which 
aimed at raising $25,000 for an endowment by the " scholarship plan." 
The working of this easy method of endowing schools is of especial 
interest. The scholarships were sold according to the following scale 
of prices : For one entitling the holder to the benefit of instruction in 
the institution, free of charge, for one year, $8; for three years, $15; 
for ten years, $30; and for twenty-five years, $50. The holder of a 
scholarship certificate was entitled to its benefits for himself or for 
any other person whom he might designate for the time specified 
in the certificate, whether taken in successive terms or otherwise. 
The agent, Rev. D. H. Mansfield, reported the entire $25,000 to 
have been raised by this method in one year, 747 certificates having 
been issued. It was soon found that speculators were buying up 
these certificates and letting them to coming students who other- 
wise would have paid tuition. This practice, added to a stringency 
in the money market, worked so disastrously upon the receipts 
of the school that the trustees found themselves forced in 1856 
to choose between repudiation of these scholarships and suspension 
of the school. The latter course was taken, and, after a prolonged 
discussion of various expedients, it was voted, November 5, 1856, 
to close the seminary until sufficient funds could be obtained to 
place it above financial embarrassment. The vexing question of the 
scholarship certificates remained unsolved until 1883, when the finan- 
cial agent proposed that a surrender of them should be effected in 
some honorable way, and the board of trustees accordingly passed a 
resolution announcing their conclusion that the institution could no 
longer sustain the draft upon its resources made by the scholarships, 
and therefore, in consideration of the tender of $1, obligated them- 
selves to surrender the certificates in their individual possession. 
The agent urged upon other holders the necessity of following this 
example set by the trustees, and was able to report in 1886 that the 
number of outstanding certificates had been reduced to 100. 

Meantime the boarding house authorized by the trustees in June, 
1853, had been built during the succeeding year, and the school estab- 
lished in a brick edifice of four stories, 100 feet long and 40 feet wide, 
with rooms for 150 students. The resulting indebtedness, combined 
with the annual deficit, induced the trustees to vote, June 8, 1855, to 
raise the sum of $20,000 in addition to current expenses during the 
next conference year. This appeal for support was not responded to 
with the anticipated alacrity. Following the suspension of the semi- 
nary in 1856 came the appointment of Rev. Ammi Prince as soliciting 
agent, and the vote of the trustees in 1857 that the agent endeavor to 
raise $30,000 (instead of $20,000), and that $25,000 of this should be 



EAST MAINE CONFERENCE SEMINARY. 229 

set apart as a permanent fund. August 4, 1859, the agent reported 
$25,000 pledged or paid, and in September the seminary was again 
opened. 

Since the reopening of the school the principals have been : Mr. 
R. P. Bucknam, 1859 to 1863; Rev. James B. Crawford, 1863 to 1869; 
Mr. M. F. Arey, 1869 to 1872; Rev. George Forsyth, 1872 to 1881; 
Rev. Morris W. Prince, 1881 to 1884; Rev. A. F. Chase, from 1884 to 
the present time. Miss Eliza A. Flanders was preceptress from 1859 
to 1861; Miss Elmira Lowder, 1861 to 1864; Miss Calista C. Meader, 
1864 to. 1869; Miss Etta C. Stone, 1869 to 1873; Miss Jennie C. Don- 
nell, 1873 to 1877; Miss Malvina Trecarten, 1877 to 1879; Miss Emma 
O. Pratt, 1879 to 1881; Miss Amanda M. Wilson since 1881.« 

The school was represented in the late civil war by 286 volunteers, 
about 35 per cent of such students as were liable to military duty 
prior to 1865. Their names and services are recorded in a pamphlet 
compiled by an alumnus. 5 \ 

STATE AID. 

The seminary has received substantial aid from the legislature of 
Maine. The first appropriation was of $500 annually for ten years 
from 1858. This w^as followed by a grant in 1867 of the annual in- 
terest of $10,000, which principal sum was in 1876 appropriated as an 
endowment fund, and placed in charge of the trustees of the seminary/ 

The endowment from the State has been supplemented by gifts 
solicited from the friends of the seminary at different times, but is 
wholly inadequate to meet the demands arising from the large in- 
crease in the number of pupils under the present management. The 
aggregate attendance for the three terms of 1891 is 576. 

The trustees at their annual meeting in June, 1891, adopted a plan 
for raising $50,000 additional for the endowment fund, and appointed 
a board of trust composed of seven members to receive subscriptions 
and pay the interest to the trustees of the seminary until the charter 
should permit the seminary to hold an endowment of at least $150,000, 
when the whole endowment will be placed in the control of the trustees. 

LIBRARY, CABINET, AND SOCIETIES. 

The school has a library of about 5,000 volumes and a valuable 
cabinet of minerals. It is also furnished with good chemical and 
philosophical apparatus, telescope, globes, maps, charts, and draw- 
ings illustrating natural history and astronomy. The natural history 

— . 1 a 

"Sketch in Zion's Herald. April 30, 1890. 

6 N. B. Webb. East Maine Conference Seminary War Record, Boston, 1877. 
c Resolves of Maine, 1858, chap. 191; Resolves of 1867, chap. 157; Acts and Re- 
solves, 1876, chap. 285. 



230 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

society lias a large and increasing collection of mounted specimens. 
Four flourishing literary societies are sustained, two of them by the 
young ladies. 

The members of the faculty board at the general boarding house, 
which accommodates 150 persons, and sit at the same tables with the 
students. The social intercourse of the house is made to partake 
more of the character of the family circle than of the common restrict- 
ive regulations of large schools. 

The State superintendent commends the efficient management of 
Principal Chase, and pronounces the academical course of study to 
be equal in extent to that of any similar school. The classical course 
offers a thorough preparation for any college. The scientific, com- 
mercial, musical, and normal courses are each well arranged and suc- 
cessfully conducted. The seminary may now be regarded as firmly 
established, enjoying the favor and support of a large number of 
alumni and friends, and with a good prospect of increasing in useful- 
ness in the future. 

The faculty for 1891 consists of Rev. A. F. Chase, Ph. D., principal, metaphys- 
ics and mathematics; Amanda M. Wilson, A. M., preceptress, Latin and modern 
languages; Wendell P. Parker, A. B., Greek and elocution; Edson F. Hitchings, 
M. S., natural science; Fred C. Ball, commercial department; Ada M. Furnel, 
Mus. B., music; Mrs. A. F. Chase, A. M., English essays; Alice J. Davis, assist- 
ant in mathematics; Lieut. Col. S. P. LaGros, military tactics; Annie M. Luce, 
assistant in English; Archie S. Harriman, assistant in Latin; Lizzie D. Nash, 
violin; Nina J. Smith, librarian; E. B. Maddocks, steward. 



Chapter XII. 

WESTBROOK SEMINARY AND FEMALE COLLEGER 



This seminary originated in the Kennebec Association of Univer- 
salists. At their annnal session held at Greene, September 29, 1830, 
a resolution was adopted providing for a meeting to take into consid- 
eration the matter of a classical school or seminary. A committee of 
11 gentlemen in various parts of the State was appointed to address 
the people upon the subject. A meeting was held at Stevens Plains 
in Westbrook, now Deering, October 27, 1830, at which a constitution 
was adopted. An act of incorporation was obtained March 4, 1831, 
as "Westbrook Seminary," with the following list of trustees, viz: 
J. C. Churchill, F. O. J. Smith, D. Winslow, and N. Nutter, of Port- 
land; W. Slemmons and M. Quimby, of Westbrook; Josiah Dunn, of 
Poland; W. A. Drew, of Augusta; D. McCobb, Waldoboro; G. W. 
Tinker, of Bowdoinham, and Alfred Pierce, of Greene. Power was 
given by the charter to increase the number of trustees to 36, with 
the proviso that " at no time shall any clergyman, a professed minister 
of the Gospel, be eligible to the board of trustees so as to increase the 
number of clergymen belonging to said board beyond one- sixth of the 
whole number of the trustees in office. The legislature of 1865, with 
a higher opinion of Universalist ministers, amended the charter and 
fixed the number of trustees at 19, of whom not more than one-third 
might be clergymen. 

Another noteworthy stipulation in the original charter was that 
"all the property which may belong to this institution over and above 
z$5,000 shall be subject to taxation by the State only, except such as 
shall be given by persons not residing in the State." 

As there was no similar institution under the patronage of the Uni- 
versalist denomination located in New England, the school was estab- 
lished at Westbrook, 2\ miles from Portland, easily accessible from 
New Hampshire and Massachusetts. The State Universalist Conven- 
tion promptly ratified the proceedings of the committee and appointed 
Rev. W. A. Drew and Rev. S. Brimblecom to address the churches 

^Sources of information: Special Laws of Maine, vol. 2, chap. 143; vol. 9, chap. 
414. Maine School Eeport, W. J. Corthell, 1876, p. 94. Catalogues of Westbrook 
Seminary, 1854, 1869, 1871, 1875, 1890-91. The Christian Pilot, May 3, 1833. The 
Universalist Register, 1891. 

231 



232 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

iii favor of the enterprise. These gentlemen at once entered into the 
work of collecting funds, and in May, 1833, reported "the building 
in progress." The building was of brick, 37 by 70 feet in dimensions, 
two stories high, with a cupola, and cost about $7,000. The land 
upon which it was situated was given by Z. B. Stevens and O. Buckley. 

The seminary was opened for instruction June 9, 1834, in charge of 
two clergymen, Rev. S. Brimblecom, principal, and Rev. A. Dins- 
more, assistant. In 1836, James Furbish took charge of the school, 
continuing until 1840, when John K. True was chosen principal. He 
was followed by other principals, viz, M. B. Walker and G. W. True, 
1843; E. P. Hines, 1844; G. R. Bradford, 1846; Rev. L. L. Record, 
1849; N. Hatch, 1851. The school was now in a very low state, and 
remained closed for several terms, until Rev. J. P. Weston took 
charge of its affairs in March, 1853. By his zealous labors the semi- 
nary was raised to new life and given a permanent position. 

Goddard Hall, a fine four-story brick edifice, 75 by 50 feet, was 
erected during his administration. It is used as a dormitory for the 
boys and also contains a reading room. In 1889 it was refurnished 
by Mrs. Mary Goddard, at an expense of $5,000, and is now heated 
by steam, supplied with hot and cold water, and worthy a place 
among the best school buildings in the State. It commemorates the 
benefactions of Mr. Thomas A. Goddard, of Boston, Mass. Mr. Wes- 
ton's administration terminated in 1859. 

The school was now placed in the temporary care of several young 
men in succession — Mr. C. S. Fobes and Rev. S. B. Rawson in 1859, 
B. G. Ames in 1860, and M. B. Coolidge in 1861. Rev. S. H. McCol- 
lister was chosen principal in 1862 and conducted the school until 
1869. The attendance increased and the general reputation of the 
seminary improved under his scholarly care. Rev. J. C. Snow, from 
1869 to 1872, occupied the principal's chair with marked success. 
During this period the school was established upon the permanent 
basis it now holds. Hersey Hall, an imposing four-story brick dor- 
mitory for the ladies, was built, and a large dining hall connecting it 
with Goddard Hall. Its dimensions are 100 by 50 feet, and the 
amount expended in its construction for steam heating apparatus, v 
water service, and other modern accessories, amounted to $40,000. 
The gifts of Gen. S. F. Hersey, of Bangor, caused his name to be 
bestowed upon the building. The president's office and the Frost 
library are in this building, with a ladies' reading room. Mr. George 
Frost, of Deering, has given a library fund of $500. 

Mr. William A. Poste conducted the school with ability in 1872 and 
1873, after one year of faithful service by Mr. Cyrus B. Varney in 
1871-72. The school also prospered under the care of Rev. George 
M. Bodge, from 1874 to 1878. The class which graduated in 1875 was 
one of the largest in the history of the seminary, numbering 26 ; the 
same number graduated in 1889. 



WESTBKOOK SEMINARY AND FEMALE COLLEGE. 233 

Rev. J. P. Weston, D. D., was a second time chosen principal in 
1878, and continued to preside over the seminary to which he had 
given so efficient labor and instruction twenty-five years before. His 
successor, the present principal, is A. B. Allen, A. M., who has had 
charge of the school since 1889, and is adding to its reputation by his 
able and energetic administration of its affairs. The principal and 
his assistants are chosen by the trustees of the Maine State Univer- 
salist Convention. 

LADIES' COLLEGIATE DEPARTMENT. 

The trustees were authorized by an act of the legislature, approved 
March 11, 1863, "to prescribe a course of study for young ladies, 
equivalent to that of any female college in New England, and to 
confer the collegiate honors and degrees usually granted by female 
colleges." Two courses, of four years each, have been established in 
this department. The degree of laureate of arts is conferred upon 
ladies who complete the classical course and that of laureate of science 
upon those who complete the scientific course. From 1863 to 1890, 
inclusive, 115 ladies have received the degree of L. A., and 72 that 
of B. S.« 

ACADEMIC DEPARTMENT. 

This department includes the college preparatory course of four 
years, a higher English course of three years, and a general English 
course. The attendance in 1891, in all courses was, during the fall 
term, 94; winter term, 85; spring term, 83. 

CABINET AND LIBRARY. 

A cabinet of minerals collected by Dr. Weston, numbering about 
700 specimens, has lately been acquired. The physical apparatus 
includes a lunar tellurian, dynamo, electricmotor, telegraphs, tele- 
phones, galvanometer, Wheatstone's bridge, rheostat, and other 
instruments. The Frost library contains about 1,000 volumes. 

AID FROM THE STATE. 

In the report of the Maine board of education for 1851 Westbrook 
Seminary is reported as having received from the State 11,520 acres 
of land and $2,000. By resolve of March 8, 1832, $1,000 was granted, 
of which $250 was for the tuition of indigent students. The further 
sum of $200 a year for ten years was vpted by resolve of March 27, 
1858. The proceeds of the sale of timber from a half township of 
State lands, the amount not exceeding $10,000, was granted March 
23, 1864; this amount was conditioned on the raising of $10,000 by 
the friends of the seminary, and was to be invested as an endowment, 

« The Catalogue for 1891 contains a list of the graduates. 



234 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

from the income of which five perpetual scholarships giving free tui- 
tion were to be created and placed at the disposal of the governor and 
council, "preference being given to returned soldiers, or the children 
of such as have fallen in the defense of their country. " a 

BOARD OF INSTRUCTION, 1891-92. 

The instructors for 1891-92 are Albert B. Allen, A. M., acting presi- 
dent, and professor of Latin, Greek, mental and moral science; 
Henry B. Stone, Ph. B., natural sciences and mathematics; Miss 
D. NT. Morton, L. A., preceptress, French, German, and rhetoric; 
Miss Rose Bennett, L. A., mathematics and history; Miss Annie 
Nichols, L. A., botany and Greek; Mrs. A. B. Allen, M. M., music, 
drawing, and painting; Miss Helen L. Coe, elocution and physical 
culture. 

The seminary now has invested funds amounting to $100,000. Mr. 
Charles S. Fobes, of Portland, is treasurer of the corporation, and 
Mr. Merritt B. Coolidge, president of the alumni association. 

a Report of Maine Board of Education, 1851, page 38. Resolves of Maine, vol. 2, 
p. 409; vol. 8, chap. 193; and vol. 9, chap. 334, p. 330. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

MAINE CENTRAL INSTITUTE. 



This institute was established in 1866, in the town of Pittsfield, 
and is appropriately named from its central location. It was char- 
tered February 1, 1866. The corporate members of its first board of 
trustees were Oren B. Cheney, Ebenezer Knowlton, Going Hathorn, 
Anson P. Morrill, Henry Boynton, James Colder, Dennis L. Milliken, 
William H. Littlefield, John Thissell, Lot L ; Harmon, Alex. H. Mor- 
rill, William C. Stinson, Nathaniel F. Weymouth, Solomon Dunning, 
John W. Perkins, George E. S. Bryant, Joshua Nye, and Jesse C. 
Conner. a Several religious denominations are represented in this list 
of corporators. The immediate occasion of the founding of the school 
was the development of the flourishing Freewill Baptist academy, 
called the Maine State Seminary, into what is now Bates College. 
Pittsfield had in 1855 endeavored to secure that school, but the trus- 
tees, by a majority of one, voted to place it in Lewiston. 5 

The claims of Pittsfield. were again presented and with success. In 
the autumn of 1866 the institute opened, with Rev. Arthur Given as 
principal and over 80 pupils enrolled. Having no buildings as yet, 
the pupils were assembled wherever room could be found. Public 
halls and private parlors received the classes which the village school- 
house could not contain. 

In 1868 the corner stone of a large brick building was laid, and in 
1869 the institute had a local habitation. The edifice is 118 feet long, 
68 feet wide, and three stories high with a basement story. It is pro- 
vided with steam heating, and is very conveniently planned for gen- 
eral school purposes. The campus on which the institute stands is 
about. 20 acres in extent, the gift of Going Hathorn, esq., one of the 
corporators. 

Rev. Arthur Given, the first principal, was succeeded in 1867 by 
Prof. Charles A. Mooers and Prof. L. G. Jordan, who conducted the 
school with ability one year each. Prof. George B. Files was princi- 
pal from 1869 to 1873; Prof. Kingsbury Bachelder 1873-1881; Prof. 
John H. Parsons 1881-1889, at which latter date Prof. O. H. Drake 
was appointed. 

a Special Laws of Maine, vol. x, p. 11. 

b Historical sketch in the students' monthly, " The M. C. I.," June, 1888 

235 



236 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

COURSES OP STUDY. 

Four courses of study are offered — a college preparatory course of 
three years, a classical course of four years, a scientific course of four 
years, and a normal course of two years. Graduates from the college 
preparatory course receive certificates admitting them to Bates College 
without examination. The normal department is in charge of Prof. 
J. E. Holton, A. M. This department was established in 1881. There 
is also a commercial department, over which Prof. H. H. Bryant presides. 
Besides the preceptress, Miss Angie E. Hanson, the corps of teachers in 
1891 includes Mrs. O. H. Drake, A. B., Latin and Science; Flora A. Boyd, 
L. A., normal classes and English studies; Mrs. F. J. Taylor, vocal 
and instrumental music; Mrs. E. C. Bryant, phonography and type- 
writing, and Mr. Fred A. Grimes, penmanship. The average attend- 
ance in the three terms of 1891 was 176. 

The number of persons who have enjoyed the educational advan- 
tages offered by the institute now exceeds 5,000. These have come 
chiefly from central Maine, though every county in the State has had 
its representation. The degrees of laureate of arts and laureate of 
science are conferred upon lady graduates of the classical and scien- 
tific courses, respectively, by virtue of act of the legislature, approved 
February 10, 1887, authorizing the trustees to confer "the collegiate 
honors and degrees that are generally granted by female colleges." a 

Though the Maine Central Institute has always been under the 
general oversight of the Freewill Baptist denomination of Maine, it 
is in no sense a sectarian school. Only two of its present board of 
instruction are members of this denomination, while its trustees have 
always been made up of men of different religious beliefs. An act of 
legislature approved March 5, 1889, seems however to indicate that 
the school may soon become mo^e directly under the control of the 
Freewill Baptists. The act divides the 25 trustees into classes of 5 
persons each, holding office five years each. Beginning with 1890, 3 of 
the 5 trustees to be annually elected, are to be chosen by the Maine 
Free Baptist Association. h 

The financial condition of the school has improved within the last 
few years, and the indebtedness incurred during the early years of 
its establishment has been paid, leaving a small endowment fund, 
which the friends of the school intend shall soon be increased. The 
citizens of Pittsfield have shown great interest in the enterprise and 
respond liberally to appeals for aid. The late W. C. Stinson, esq., 
was mainly instrumental in securing the location of the institute in 
this town, and not only solicited many pledges of financial support 
from others, but also freely relinquished all his own property for the 
same purpose. The State has been liberal in its gifts, and has made 

a Private and Special Laws of Maine, 1887, Chap. 77. 

h Acts and Resolves of the Sixty-fourth Legislature of Maine, 1889, chap. 501. 



MAINE CENTRAL INSTITUTE. 237 

provision that ' ■ the governor and council and superintendent of com- 
mon schools shall have a right at any and all times to visit said school 
when the same shall be in operation, and if, in the opinion of the 
governor and council, said institution at any time hereafter shall fail 
to fulfill the conditions contained in this resolve, they may in their 
discretion withhold the appropriation ($1,000 annually for ten years) 
herein granted." The conditions referred to are: "That the trustees 
of said institution shall maintain and keep in operation a school equal 
in rank and grade of teaching with its present high grade and rank, 
and also maintain a Normal Department equal in grade to that 
required by law of the State normal schools." a 

In 1870, the State gave the school the interest on $10,000, payable 
annually at 6 per cent. This principal sum was by the legislature of 
1881 granted as an endowment fund, conditioned upon the establish- 
ment of a normal department. It also gave permission, in case the 
managers could not raise money enough within two years to clear itself 
from debt, that the trustees might locate the institute in some town 
whose inhabitants would furnish suitable grounds and buildings. 
The effect of this act was to stimulate the friends of the school to 
raise the needed funds, which they succeeded in doing, and accord- 
ingly the legislature of 1885 ordered the payment of the $10,000 endow- 
ment fund, the interest of which only had been paid since 1881. 

It is not unlikely that the "Maine Central" as a designation of this 
institute may ere long give place to the surname of some patron of 
education, the act of 1881 having authorized the trustees to make such 
a change on receipt of the sum of $10, 000. b 

« Resolves of the State of Maine, 1891, chap. 4, 

& Private and Special Laws of Maine, 1881, chap. 71, and Resolves of Maine, 
1885, chap. 180. 



Chapter XIV. 

OAK GROVE SEMINARY. 



This flourishing school is under the charge of the New England 
Yearly Meeting of Friends, and is situated at Vassalboro, on the 
banks of the Kennebec, 12 miles above the State capital. Its found- 
ers were John D. Lang; Ebenezer Fry; Aid en Sampson; Samuel 
Taylor, second; and Alton Pope. In 1849 they met to discuss the 
desirability of establishing a school in which their children might 
receive Quaker discipline. Mr. Lang offered an acre of land for a 
building site, and steps were taken to obtain incorporation. Under 
the direction of Samuel Fry a substantial wooden building was erected, 
at a cost of $2,500, near the top of a considerable elevation crowned 
with a forest of oaks. 

The act of incorporation was passed by the legislature and received 
the approval of the governor, April 5, 1854. The charter authorizes 
the five founders above named and their successors to receive and 
hold property as a corporation to the limit of $50,000, with the powers 
and privileges incident to similar corporations. 

The school opened in the autumn of 1850 under the direction of 
William H. Hobbie, a graduate of Water ville College, who remained 
two terms. Tradition says that the Friends looked upon his method 
of requiring some of the lessons to be chanted instead of recited as 
being "both mysterious and worldly, and totally at variance with the 
mind of truth." Mr. Hobbie's resignation did not awaken much grief, 
and Josiah Nlckerson was hopefully welcomed as his successor. 

The original purpose to limit the privileges of the seminary to 
Quaker children was given up under his administration, and the 
school opened its doors to all alike. Franklin Page, now the pub- 
lisher of the Friends' Review, was the next principal. Owing to the 
impossibility of obtaining board in the vicinity, the attendance steadily 
diminished. This condition of affairs was considered at a meeting of 
the corporators, and it was resolved to solicit contributions from 
Friends in general to the amount of $15,000, for the purpose of erect- 
ing and furnishing a boarding house. Headed with a subscription of 
$1,000 from Ebenezer Fry and corresponding sums from the other 
238 



OAK GROVE SEMINARY. 239 

founders, the list was circulated by Eli Jones and Thomas Mchols 
within the limits of the Vassalboro, Fairfield, and Falmouth Quarterly 
Meetings, and educational meetings held in nearly every Quaker 
meetinghouse in the State. The amount was finally secured and the 
dormitory built. The site was not far from the spot where the first 
meeting of Friends in the county was held in 1780. \ 

But though the pupils received into the school were no longer 
required to be from the families of Friends, there was no disposition 
to place the management of its affairs in the hands of ' ' the world's 
people." We find in the records of the board the following: 

At a meeting held the 14th of 3d month, 1857, the committee on a board of 
instructors reported that they were nnited in the judgment that the services of a 
Friend of religions character and moral worth should be obtained, who shall be 
considered as principal of Oak Grove Seminary, and whose duty it shall be to 
exercise a parental care over its inmates and have the government of the school, 
in seeing that order and a proper subordination be observed by all, that he shall 
have charge of the Scripture lessons of the different classes and impart such moral 
and religious instruction as he may deem calculated with the divine blessing to 
promote the welfare of those under his charge, and that there should also be 
employed a mathematical and classical teacher, competent to instruct in the higher 
classes of the school. 

The school was reopened under the new arrangement, in the latter 
part of 1857, under the principal ship of Eli Jones. The average 
attendance of the year was 50 pupils. 

The nucleus of a library and cabinet of minerals was formed, and 
during the administration of Albert K. Smiley the next principal, 
$500 was expended for chemical and philosophical apparatus. The 
school was highly successful under Mr. Smiley's direction, and at one 
time had 140 pupils enrolled. 

Augustine Jones succeeded principal Smiley in 1860, and con- 
tinued in charge three years. Of him it is recorded that "he labored 
diligently, governed firmly, and taught thoroughly." After an 
interval of one year, in which the school was conducted by Ozias 
Whitman, a faithful teacher though not a member of the Society of 
Friends, and by Joseph Pinkham, since an eminent physician, Mr. 
Jones resumed the position of principal. A gymnasium was added 
and the school buildings refurnished. A commercial department 
was included in the courses of instruction. In the midst of these evi- 
dences of prosperity, the Seminary building was destroyed by fire in 
the spring of 1883, and the school discontinued for one year. 

At this time the school property was transferred to the New Eng- 
land yearly meeting of Friends, and this committee raised the amount 
of money necessary to rebuild the seminary. 

In February, 1884, the school reopened, with Charles H. Jones as 
principal. Mr. Jones had previously served as assistant, and entered 
zealously upon the work of restoring the school to its former high 



240 EDUCATION IN MAINE. 

rank among the academies of the State. The tokens of new life and 
vigor soon made themselves manifest, and the attendance increased 
to such an extent that another building became necessary to accom- 
modate the pupils. A large school building was erected in 1885, which 
was soon filled with scholars, and the prospects of the seminary seemed 
unusually brilliant. Hardly two years had elapsed, however, when 
on the night of August 31, 1887, the school and boarding houses were 
entirely consumed by fire, and one of the pupils, an interesting lad of 
14 years, named Stephen Jones, perished in the flames. The gymna- 
sium and stable were at once fitted up temporarily for school pur- 
poses, and instruction was to begin on Monday, September 19; but 
while all were at church on Sunday forenoon this building also was 
burned. It was afterwards ascertained that both fires were the work 
of an incendiary, a pupil from Brockton, Mass. 

Greenwood Hall, the nearest public building, was hastily prepared 
to receive the school, and the work of the seminary went on. An 
appeal for funds to rebuild and endow the seminary was made and 
found a liberal response. One of the subscribers, Charles M. Bailey, 
of Winthrop, a prominent member of the Society of Friends, assumed 
the expense of constructing the buildings, about $22,000, leaving all 
other gifts to be used as a permanent fund, which now amounts to 
$20,000.« 

The new seminary buildings, to which the name of Bailey Institute 
is now attached, were completed in season to receive the school at 
its autumn session in 1888. The principal, Mr. Charles H. Jones, 
resigned in the spring of 1889 to take charge of the Friends' Academy 
at Union Springs, 1ST. Y. The services of Mr. Rufus M. Jones, a 
former pupil of Oak Grove and a graduate of Haverford College, 
were secured at once, and the seminary has prospered under his 
efficient management beyond all previous record. The number of 
students in 1891-92 is 123. 

Mr. Jones is aided in his work by an able corps of assistants. The 
faculty is at present composed of Rufus M. Jones, A. M., principal, 
languages and psychology; Henry H. Goddard, A. M., mathematics; 
Georgia B. Birdsall, Ph. B., governess, history, and English; Sibyl 
Stanley, S. B., sciences; Grant D. Anthony, commercial department; 
Emma F. R. Goddard, primary department; Sarah H. C. Jones, 
household department; Lewis P. Mayo, music; Sara D. Lang, draw- 
ing and painting. 

Two courses of study are offered : A classical course of four years 
and a scientific and literary course. The former may be varied, so 
as to prepare students for any college or university. The aim of the 
latter is especially to prepare young men and women for teaching or 

«The Society of Friends in Kennebec County, Me. By Rufus M. Jones. New 
York, 1892. pp. 12-14. 



OAK GROVE SEMINARY. 241 

to give them an opportunity to pursue the studies most necessary to 
fit them for an active and useful life in the world. Courses are offered 
those desiring to fit for teaching. A diploma is given to those satis- 
factorily finishing either of these courses. 

The seminary has also a commercial course and a primary depart- 
ment. b 

In common with several other academies, Oak Grove Seminary 
received from the State in 1872 a grant of $600 annually for ten years 
toward the support of a normal department. Reports of the attend- 
ance and instruction in that department appear in the annual reports 
of the State superintendent during that period. 

& Catalogue for 1891-92. Kennebec Valley News, Vassalboro, April 5, 1892. 
10324— No. 3—03 -16 

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Ix 'II 



